Thirteen
by YarningChick
Summary: On the worst day of her life, Haru is forced into an unwanted marriage and into playing a game with unknown rules. But with her life at stake, the poor girl has no choice but to play. Strong 'T' but nothing explicit. Cover art beautifully done by myvividreams.
1. Asking

_**Thirteen**_

A/N; This started as a crackfic idea. This was supposed to be a little joke, an excuse to write a single scene without an info dump. But what freaked me out after naming this story, is realizing that I've been writing and posting fanfiction for thirteen years.

Thirteen years. Everybody that keeps coming back for more, just… have a big hug. Thank you.

(Also, ffnet wasn't letting me upload anything last night. Sorry for the delay.)

**Chapter One: Asking**

_I'm not asking for the world._

_-Megan Marie_

xxXxx

Haru was numb.

That was the only way to describe it. There were no thoughts, no feeling… yes, that was for the best if she didn't feel. As long as she couldn't feel anything, she could keep her body moving forward.

It was a day like all the others. No matter the tragedy, the cow needed milked, the chickens need feeding, eggs collected and breakfast started before her father woke up.

Like he'd even notice before taking his plate into his workshop.

Haru stopped spreading chicken feed, and just stared up at the sky as her feathered charges clucked and shoved against each other for their food.

It all should have been so easy. Plain and simple. She had never asked for much, after all.

"… Good morning, Haru."

That _voice_! Why now?! Why not last summer, when she still had a chance?!

Haru slowly turned her head to acknowledge the one who had finally realized she existed.

Machida was smiling a little nervously from the other side of the fence. "May I come in?" he asked while gesturing at the lock keeping him out. "I have a favor to ask."

Haru stared at him a long moment, regret filling her as easily as she filled a water bucket. Since even looking at him made the numbness start throbbing painfully, the young woman slowly turned her back on him and gave a few more fistfuls of feed to the chickens, who renewed their clucking of appreciation.

"It's nothing big, I promise," he added a little pleadingly. "You don't have to help with a single thing, everyone will understand. I won't even ask you to bring a pie for the feast afterward."

Haru's heart began throbbing as she remembered that set of daydreams. Her and Machida, finally having their turn at the best table brought to the center of the town as everyone toasted them their good wishes as music played from the only musician their humble village had to offer.

To distract herself from the pain that began anew, Haru shouldered the bag of remaining feed and marched into the chicken coop. One hand automatically gathered the ends of her apron for a makeshift basket as her other one explored all the usual corners that the chickens enjoyed hiding their eggs in.

"Haru, I swear if you do this for me, I will never ask anything from you ever again!" Machida bargained, but Haru didn't know why he bothered.

Eight years of living in the same village, and this was the first time he had ever said more than 'hi' to her.

Only retrieving five eggs today, Haru stopped outside the door of the chicken coop, and leaned slightly against the shaky frame while giving him her dead-eye stare. _'Can he really not hear how I'm screaming for him?'_

Machida took in a deep breath. "Mother thought… you know how much she's always liked you?" he added with a desperate smile.

Haru shook her head while keeping her gaze on him. _'For all I knew, she didn't think my existence was worth noticing, either!'_

"Well… Hiromi passed on that you were going to just stay home tomorrow, even though the invitation was for everybody. Mother thought that because…" He floundered for the right words.

'_Because I've been in love with you for the solid eight years since your family moved here?' _Haru didn't say it, though. She had always had trouble speaking her mind, sometimes even to her best friend. But she kept her dead gaze on him, secretly enjoying watching the man squirm uncomfortably.

It served him right for ignoring her for seven of those years and then giving a new girl the kind of courtship that Haru had spent her life praying for.

Machida took in a deep breath and tried again. "Well, it's never been a secret, has it? I'm sorry you… felt that way, but my heart belongs to Sakura."

Haru already missed being numb. If he had slammed a dagger into her heart while saying it, she wouldn't have felt a thing. Taking a firmer grip on her apron, she unsteadily began the slightly muddy walk back to her father's little cottage.

"Wait, I haven't finished!" Machida panicked, losing his manners enough to hop over the fence and run after her. "Look what I want is simple. Just show up."

Haru stopped in her tracks, stumbling a bit thanks to her haste to get inside her home and away from **him. **_'He did not just ask me to go.' _ She slowly turned to look at him with disbelief, hoping that he had slurred what he really wanted.

Machida just looked thrilled that she was listening to him. "Mother thinks that you think that everyone but you are invited to the wedding. She doesn't want anyone thinking that we don't like you, because we do!"

'_Liar.' _ Haru made sure her expression was readable enough for him to guess what she was thinking.

"No, we really do," he assured her while rubbing his shaggy black hair with one hand out of nerves. "But you know how the elders are once they get their minds set. They made assumptions about who my bride was going to be for years, they don't like being told that I have different ideas-"

'_Why are you still talking?!' _she inwardly screeched at him. Almost without her own volition, her free hand wandered down to her apron.

"-but no one gets to decide that but me!" Machida asserted with a firm nod of his head. "It will help ease things for Sakura and her aunt when they move in with us. So. Will you do it?"

Her hand was a blur as it slapped the largest egg against his cheek.

The one she once thought would be her husband reeled in shock, backing away while putting one hand on his sticky face.

"You chose her," Haru stated, forcing herself to speak as she got another egg ready. "I owe you nothing. Get out before I start using rocks."

Machida gaped at her, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the slap, or because it was the most she had ever successfully said to him in eight years.

Either way, he got one egg on his shoulder and another one on his hip before he managed to get out of range.

ooOoo

It was afternoon before Haru was disturbed again. The fire was stoked enough to ensure an even bake on her bread, so she was stealing some time to embroider red flowers on one of her father's bags.

That was his trade, as boring as it was. Make bags of all sizes, skins for water or wine, saddlebags for the merchant that liked to exchange goods with the dry goods store in town. The money was decent if he made enough bags, and even better when his daughter would add some decoration to the more feminine ones.

It was supposed to be her last chore to worry about, but Haru wasn't above sneaking it before tasks that no one but her would notice, anyway.

A shadow looming over the half-door to the kitchen was her only warning, but since Haru had grown up with that shadow, she only tied the end of her thread before cutting it with her teeth.

Then she had to take a break to retie her hair into its usual ponytail since the cord holding it was turning loose.

"Eggs, Haru?" Hiromi asked while folding her arms over the half-door to help conceal her enlarged belly.

"He should consider himself lucky I wasn't mucking out Lili's stable when he came," the brunette answered without taking her eyes off her work. "Why did you tell them I wasn't going? I warned you it would only cause problems."

Hiromi sighed sadly. "Machida's mother was giving assignments out for the feast and asked me what your specialty was."

Haru hmphed angrily, setting her work aside to check on the bread. "_Sure _his mother's fond of me. Look at all the attention she's paid me; she even knows what I bring for _every single event for four years straight!_"

Hiromi flinched at her friend's bitter tone. "You know they're not bad people, Haru. You did want to join their family, after all."

"But I don't get to," Haru retorted, taking the poker and stabbing it fiercely into the fire. "I get to be an old maid because the only men in this village are taken or too young. Too bad that extra family moved in last year, or the boys and girls would have all been equally matched!"

"Someone could move in again," Hiromi tried to console her, but Haru had already given all too much thought on it.

"Sure, and even if they have someone the right age for me, he can get even more resentful than Machida about being the last one paired up, and I'm not up to standard!"

"You take that back right now!" Hiromi barked, throwing the half-door open and storming into the kitchen.

"Girls. Keep it down out there," came Haru's father's voice from his studio. But since his tone was still level, he wasn't about to come out any time soon.

Hiromi fiercely grabbed Haru and held her tight while avoiding the poker. "You are _more _than up to standard! Any man would be lucky to have someone as loving or hardworking as you for a wife!"

"Then why didn't Machida want me?" she nearly whispered, setting the poker aside and hugging her best friend like she was never going to let go. "Why?"

Hiromi had no answer to that. But she did hold her friend until the smell of burning bread forced them to part.

Haru rescued the bread and checked the bottom as she eased it onto the breadboard. "Just a little burnt on the bottom," she noted absently. "The chickens never mind the burnt parts."

Hiromi had to force herself to say the next part. "Haru. Machida's mother wasn't amused by the eggs."

"Then maybe she should have made her own request," Haru responded without interest, her attention still on the bread.

"Kamiko's determined that the village show a united front for this marriage," the friend hurried on while wringing her hands. "She wants you there."

"Then she should have convinced Machida I wouldn't have been a bad choice."

Hiromi groaned as she sunk into the chair next to the half-embroidered bag. "I think you're missing my point. Remember the goat incident?"

"She has no authority over me," Haru responded indifferently, deciding that a slice of this with some jam preserves would be all her stomach could handle for now.

"Kamiko's planning on giving you the goat treatment if you don't come willingly."

Haru stopped short to give her friend a look of pure rage. "I am _not _her goat!"

Hiromi gave her a helpless look. "Do you really think your father will stop her? She's already picked out Masao and Tomoe to keep you in line for the ceremony. They don't like what you did to their best friend."

"Yeah, well, I don't like what their best friend did to me!" Haru responded with outrage. "This is _proving _none of them care about me! There will be less drama if I stay home, why won't anyone see that? The reason I'm upset is because Machida's wedding day has **nothing **to do with me!"

"I tried to explain that, Haru," Hiromi swore, watching her friend pace up and down the small kitchen. "But her mind's made up that the event will be meaningless without you. Kamiko thinks you need to show the village that you don't hate Sakura, and there isn't a better way to show everyone."

Large brown eyes rolled at that gentle accusation. "Sakura already knows I don't hate her. I hate the fact that Machida wants her instead of me." _'I wonder if his mother secretly hates me and is doing this on purpose.' _Haru desperately tried to think of another good reason to tell her friend to tell everyone else why they needed to back off and let her grief run its course.

Much to her surprise… nothing came.

Haru put on a bit of a show for Hiromi of huffing angrily. Not too much, since they had known each other since they were babies. "I'll sit in the back row, and I _won't _stay for the feast. Tell her to take it or leave it."

Hiromi breathed a huge sigh of relief. "She'll take it," she assured, hugging her friend one more time before bouncing out the half door. "I'll come get you a little after dawn, and don't forget to wear your nice dress!"

"Sure," Haru muttered without enthusiasm, leaning out the half-door to watch her best friend skip merrily down the path back to the village.

All too easy.

She'd apologize later, of course. But if Machida's mother was stubborn enough to halt the wedding day until locating Haru, that would at least show all the town folk where her real priorities were.

But until then, it really was selfish of Kamiko to expect Haru to sit through a wedding ceremony and pretend to give her blessing to the happy couple. Especially when there was bound to be at least one elder that would whisper 'that should have been you'.

Not even for Machida would she put herself through that.

There wasn't much she could do about her plan until evening fell. Instead of the usual bowl of stew for her father's supper, she prepared his favorite lunch of a thick sandwich with her special bread and Hiromi's family cheese. Although Haru was privately a little worried about how she had her apron balled up while holding the plate, she did know better.

Her father wouldn't notice a thing.

A firm knock on the studio door before entering.

It was the same as any other year. Her father slouched on his favorite chair, working feverishly on the perfect edging of a satchel. His desk was littered with scraps of leather and good solid canvas, and his tired eyes didn't so much as blink at her intrusion. He worked by the light of a single candle, since he loved to reason that candlelight provided a more constant glow than a fireplace.

While deliberately placing herself between him and the table, Haru silently placed the two extra candles hidden in her apron by the burning one to alter his sense of time.

"Don't be late for dinner again," Haru told him in a neutral tone, making him grunt in acknowledgment before sewing a buckle onto the strap.

There. That must have bought her a good five hours more before he'd even go to bed, much less wonder about his only child.

Ha. What a joke.

Haru sighed sadly as she doused all the lights other than her father's workshop, just in case Machida's mother had thought to send a watcher. Her father was a mere shadow of the man he had been before her mother's fever got the better of her. She tried not to hold it against him, but after finding out about Machida's engagement, it would have been nice if her father had at least been willing to offer the boy some violence. He didn't even have to go through with anything; just getting angry that she got hurt would have helped a lot.

With a heavy heart, Haru let one window fall open seemingly on its own and used the light of the full moon to find her own satchel.

It normally didn't see use other than helping her to carry purchases when she and her father needed to trade, but tonight it had a different purpose. Haru folded three of her works in progress as tightly as she could into a fourth one before stuffing it in as well as her supply of colored threads and needles along with her little dagger just in case. She wrapped her warmest shawl around her shoulders and headed back to the kitchen.

Thanks to the minor trick she had pulled on her father, Haru didn't have to sneak around to put some of her fresh bread, a bit of Hiromi's cheese, and a waterskin into her satchel as well before adjusting her dagger to where she could reach it in a hurry, although she doubted she'd need it. Haru straightened up, looked around, and discreetly checked the path that led to the village.

Only one light was just visible, and it was in the wrong direction of either the bride or the groom's house. Once that was out, she'd be on her way.

Haru scowled at some of her earlier memories of waiting for Machida's light to go out. Since she hadn't gained the courage to speak even a sentence to him until today, she had told herself every night that his light going out was Machida's way of telling her goodnight.

She really was pathetic. Her lips tried to smile as that final light finally dimmed to nothingness, but they weren't ready to bend in such a direction yet.

It was only after letting herself out of her cottage that she bothered with stealth. Nothing ever seemed as loud as it did at night.

Haru's plan was simple. All she had to do was retreat from the village far enough that no one would find her and let them have their precious wedding while she worked on her embroidery. It didn't earn her much money since her father needed most of it to keep their home afloat, but Haru had faithfully saved every coin she could.

She didn't know how much homes cost, but she liked to think that it would have at least been enough for a small cottage for her and Machida when that special time came if he was interested in living away from his parents so they could be alone.

Her heart broke once again, making her adjust her hold on her satchel as she deliberately avoided the usual paths in the woods around the town.

Masao was a woodcutter, he'd have no trouble finding her if she stayed in a two-mile circle around the town. But that was fine by her; if she kept walking at this pace, she should be out of that area by the dawn.

For a second, the moonlight flickered, making Haru look up in surprise shortly before entering the trees.

It must have been her imagination. It was a perfectly clear night on top of a full moon one, and she could see for herself that there was nothing around.

Haru shook her head at herself and headed deeper into the woods. "What am I worried about? There aren't even any wolves around here."

Then realizing that a watcher would have heard that, she clamped her mouth shut and moved deeper into the woods while trying to avoid dry branches.

It was definitely getting harder, now. The thick foliage from the trees was making it difficult for her to see where she's going. Constantly getting tripped by tree roots wasn't that fun, either.

"Oh, fine," she griped, now that she was approaching the meadow beyond the village. It was a favorite grazing spot for the goatherds. It was nothing but rolling grass and small hills for almost a mile, which would mean that she'd be out in the open, but at least she'd be able to see where she was going.

Haru breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the meadow through the trees, almost spraining her ankle again in her eagerness to leave the darkness behind. The moonlight hit her like the sun once she was free from the trees, making her stand there for a second to take in its beauty.

This was a perfect night for such a walk. Too bad she didn't have anyone to share it with.

Haru sighed sadly at the thought but adjusted her satchel strap over her shoulder and began walking again. _'Hiromi would already be begging for us to turn around and go back by now, especially since the baby's been making her extra cautious. I doubt she's ever seen the other side of this meadow.' _Haru brightened as she realized that she was already approaching the borders of lands she's walked in her entire life. Just for the fun of it, she started running.

The moon's light suddenly left her, though she could see it far ahead. Confused, she stopped running to see what was blocking her from the moon's gentle embrace.

Everyone knew the significance of that terrible roar coupled with a woman's scream, which was loud enough to wake up enough of the town to realize what had just happened. Even if they had never heard it before, there was simply no mistaking that unearthly shriek as coming from an ordinary animal.

Lord Maliss has found another bride.


	2. Deserve

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Two: Deserve**

_I don't deserve it. _

_-Megan Marie_

xxXxx

On the other hand, maybe giving Machida and Sakura her blessing wouldn't have been such a hardship, after all.

Haru struggled weakly against the huge scaly talons holding her arms, but it was no use. That grip was too huge, covering her arms from her shoulders to past her elbows so that her hands just stuck out at an awkward and useless position as the world rushed by underneath her; farther than she'd had any intention of going in her life.

Her lungs were on fire from the screaming she had given up hours ago, and she was bone tired in the morning light, but thanks to her shawl that had fallen to the meadow she had been taken from, she was far too cold to even consider sleep. Her satchel was still hanging from her shoulder, pinned by those terrible talons to stay put no matter what, but it was doubtful that anything in there would be of any use against a wizard.

If Lord Maliss could be bribed into releasing a girl with food or fancy embroidery, there wouldn't be a highborn lady across the five continents that would be caught dead without a satchel like hers, even in bed.

That made her blink wearily in realization. _'That's right, Lord Maliss has only ever been interested in noble or royal brides. He never should have noticed my existence.' _Although she was the one to pay the price, Haru couldn't resist an evil smirk of satisfaction.

The nobility of every kingdom had countered his preference with various methods, but the most common one was cutting their daughters' hair and dressing them like sons even in the privacy of their own homes. According to the stories she'd heard, some of the sons already looked so feminine, that only the red dragon carrying her would know how many men he carried off by mistake.

That had to be the reason Haru concluded while stealing a look down at her plain brown dress, which couldn't have been mistaken for finery even at a distance. She tried desperately to think of something she could do or say to escape what the dragon had planned for her, but really.

What chance did a peasant girl who couldn't even write her name have against the worst wizard of her time? Let alone one that was used to keeping unwilling wives in line.

'_That's probably not the best way to think of it,' _Haru told herself as she glanced at a beautiful castle surrounded by a huge city that came and went slightly to her right. _'If he bothered with keeping a wife in line, he wouldn't need a new one once or twice a month.'_

A tired shudder ran through her body as her fate became clearer, and the large mountains ahead drew a line between beautiful green and barren grey.

It had once been the kingdom of Neige, but no one's called it by that name in years.

'_The Realm of Doom. Not the best place to live out your final days.'_

The thought became emphasized at the tall bleak castle on the other side of the mountains, with only one small amount of green earth behind it. The dragon made a spiraling dive for the castle, making Haru's legs fling out at an angle as she fought to keep her distant dinner from making a second appearance.

After what felt like a year, the dragon unceremoniously dumped her on top of a tower, making her groan from pain and exhaustion. Some of the bread toppled out of her satchel, but she automatically slipped it back in with one trembling hand.

Her arms were shaking as she forced herself into a sitting position. Her tired, fearful eyes looked up at the red dragon as it landed on the tower's edge, carefully balanced on its two legs.

It could have been her imagination, but those yellow eyes seemed to smirk at her before folding his great red wings over his head.

Haru knew she should have done something while he was distracted, but she _was _a simple village girl who had never seen a magic trick more elaborate than colorful scarves stuffed up a sleeve.

Those wings glowed a deeper red and strangely black as they shrank, and an evil laugh seemed to echo from within until the glow was gone.

Now a long blue cape, Lord Maliss let it fall to reveal himself to her, the smirk now on his human lips as well as in his dark eyes. He jumped off the edge of the tower to stand not that far from her to gauge her reaction to him.

He more or less looked the way Haru thought he would. Tall, pale with a green cast to his skin, long nails and dark clothing with darker hair that a vampire would have scalped someone to own. Even the tall staff in one hand wasn't a surprise, since it was red and the top of it was an exact replica of his dragon head.

Before she could think, he tapped that staff on the grey stone once. Her little dagger flew out of her satchel and into his hand as a result, making her cry out hoarsely in dismay.

"Now, now, **dear**. You won't be needing this, anymore," the wizard sneered, making the blade turn into a wisp of smoke before disappearing completely.

Crud, there went her suicide option. Wait, he dropped her off on top of a tower! Haru quickly turned the other direction while rising to her feet, running for the edge before she was fully upright.

Haru felt a hand as cold and strong as steel grab her wrist and yank hard enough to force her to half turn and face him again.

All she saw was a flash of red light, and she suddenly couldn't move. Her eyes were still turned upward in shock and fear, but she could see the wizard smile in approval when the red light faded from his eyes. He released her wrist now that she wasn't going anywhere.

"How nice to have a bride eager to explore her new home," he exclaimed in false enthusiasm while fishing something out of his pocket. "But formalities first, **dear**."

He pulled out an amulet that was the same glossy red as his staff, with his dragon form engraved into the surface, and in a pose that looked ready for the kill.

Haru tried desperately to lean back since she didn't like the determination she saw on his face, but it was no use. Her every muscle was frozen solid. Even her lungs seemed reluctant to take in enough air to keep her from blacking out, and her heart was having trouble beating against flesh that refused to bend around it. She could do nothing as the evil wizard clasped the heavy gold chain around her throat.

There was an immediate stinging where the huge amulet came to rest on her chest, which only increased when Lord Maliss set the head of his dragon staff against its twin image.

"As these came from the same stone, so will me and thee be one," he intoned, taking her frozen hand with his free one in a forceful grip.

The stinging seemed to echo through her until the amulet seemed to pulse in time with her heartbeat.

Maliss stole a mocking kiss from her frozen lips, breaking the spell that held her bound.

Haru backed away as much as she could and used her free hand to wipe at her mouth. _'That didn't count! That wasn't my first kiss!'_

The wizard yanked her back to him and pinned her to his side by her waist. "Now then to the usual; yes, that was binding, and no, you're not going to be able to escape." He nearly dragged her to the edge of the tower and used the staff to point straight down like he didn't notice her struggling to break free from his hold.

They were pretty high up, but Haru could tell that the creatures below were snarling and fighting over remains that she deliberately didn't look too close at weren't dogs, or even wolves. No type she had ever heard of before had horns for noses.

"My little pets don't like strangers," he crooned with a twisted satisfaction. "I don't recommend trying to befriend them, I've lost a few wives that way. There's a pack at every exit, and they know who has permission to leave. Not that you would be able to visit them with _this_," he added while directing his gaze to the amulet.

At least, Haru prayed that was what he was looking at.

"I think you'll find any ideas involving high places, outside doors and windows, or sharp objects to be… anticlimactic," he added with another wicked smile. "I **have **done this a time or two, as you obviously know."

Haru wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to give this creep a piece of her mind as well as her fists, but everything was starting to turn blurry in her vision, as if the magic on the amulet was sucking up the little energy she still had left.

It was all too much. Her grief hadn't run its course yet. Her strength was gone. This wasn't the wedding day she had been telling herself since childhood would be hers.

The last thing she saw before passing out from sheer exhaustion was that irritating smirk of his.

_**Night One**_

Haru's head was aching when she started coming to. _'Morning always comes too soon. Lili probably wouldn't mind if I just… stay in a few extra minutes before milking her.'_

"Is that bathwater ready yet?" a harsh voice tried to whisper, waking the girl up immediately.

Haru sat up like she had never heard of rest and looked around her frantically. Wherever she had been sleeping, it was warm and soft but very dark. Reaching out in vain, a thick sturdy fabric came into her hand, and a good yank made the heavy material slide open enough to see where she was.

The bed she had been resting on was larger and softer than anything she had even imagined before, but the most beautiful thing about it in her eyes was that she had clearly been sleeping alone in it. A glance out the large glass doors proclaimed the time to be sundown.

She had very literally slept the whole day away.

"Ah, awake, my lady?"

"Oh goody, now we can get on with it!" another voice chimed in before the girl had a chance to answer.

She looked over and gaped in surprise at who was in the room with her.

As previously mentioned, Haru knew very little about people outside of her village, and even less about magic. So she was completely unprepared for the monsters in her room.

The two voices that had talked almost on top of each other had come from a two-headed bird, and the first voice had come from a large mouthed monster that had been calmly sewing something blue that pooled over her lap like water. Haru could just barely tell that the one sewing was female.

The two-headed monster hopped up to her, smiling and offering her two tiny hands that seemed more like talons. "Your bath's ready, my lady," the left head with red braids informed her with a wide grin.

"And don't worry, we don't bite," the right head with tight blonde curls added with a cackle of a laugh. "Did you sleep well, my lady?"

Haru numbly looked around the cavernous room that was apparently hers, at least the part she could see from the opened bed curtain. She could have easily fit three of her father's cottage in here, and there were several touches that screamed that this was meant to be a highborn lady's room.

That made her feel a little better. There was absolutely no hint that she was meant to share this room with… that **thing**.

"Come, come; before your bath gets cold," the red head scolded as both of those tiny hands grabbed hers and nearly yanked her off the bed and sending the blankets flying.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Haru yelped, getting to her feet and suddenly realizing that her shoes and socks had been removed while she was asleep. Even the cord that held her ponytail was gone.

Her satchel was hanging on a nearby peg, but Haru could already tell that someone had filched the food from it. _'If it was Lord Maliss, I hope he choked on Hiromi's cheese!' _she thought furiously.

The two headed purple monster guided her over to a marble bathtub that was full of steaming bubbles.

But the girl still stopped those talon hands when they tried to remove her dress. "You don't have to bother, you know," she stated in absolute misery as her voice croaked from all the screaming she had done on the flight to the castle. "He's going to kill me anyway."

"Only if you don't follow the rules," the blonde head tried to assure her, trying again to lift the skirt.

Haru took another step away. "Why not kill me now?" she couldn't help demanding. "He's going to do it anyway, and I already know I'm never going to like him."

The red head sighed as she and her joined sister both grabbed a part of her skirt, and very literally ripped the homespun dress apart.

Haru shrieked in surprise and tried to cover herself with her arms, but the purple bird was already ushering her into the tub while ripping the rest of the torn fabric off her arms.

"We already know what the human body looks like," the red head informed the girl as she quickly sunk up to her chin in bubbles, her face blushing furiously. "We've been the ladies in waiting for the past two years."

"Agnes is already working on your dress," the head with curls added as her hand grabbed a sponge and started scrubbing Haru's back. "She should be done with the adjustments by the time we dry you off."

Adjustments. Meaning they already had the dress. Was it one another bride had worn?

Haru experimentally tugged on the amulet but felt like she was trying to pull out a major vein in her chest. Whether she liked it or not, that sign of the wizard's power wasn't going anywhere. She sighed miserably and did a face plant into the water through the bubbles, but the amulet turned warm in warning against her bare skin as it kept pulsing in time with her heart.

The water and even the bubbles around her face immediately retreated to an invisible bowl of air so that she wouldn't 'accidentally' drown.

"Sorry, my lady. One already did that," the head with braids informed her as she used a cup to douse Haru's head with water a few times before adding a liquid soap to her hair.

The soap smelled nice, at least, and the talon fingers were gentle as they rubbed the thick liquid into a rich lather. Haru couldn't name the flower scent, but she was too busy with her more depressing thoughts as she curled her body into a fetal position under the bubbly water.

Lord Maliss had thought of everything. No escape routes, no way to even use them without getting rid of the amulet first, and no way to even hasten her demise before he was finished with her.

'_Thanks a lot, Kamiko,' _Haru thought bitterly as her head was doused again. _'If you had just accepted and cared about the fact that going to your son's wedding as a guest instead of the bride would have ripped me apart, I wouldn't have needed to sneak away in the middle of the night for my own sanity. Thanks to you, I'm on death row. I hope you're happy.'_

Death row and worse. She shuddered at the thought of that disgusting **thing** taking another kiss and more from her.

Where's something venomous when you need it?

ooOoo

"Oh, aren't you a sight to behold, my lady?" the head that had identified itself as 'Red' gushed as her sister similarly swooned.

"I admit I was a little worried when he said he was bringing a peasant bride this time, but you look just as regal as the rest of them!" 'Blondie' swore while dabbing a tear out of her eye.

Haru looked at herself in the mirror, feeling worse than ever by the light of the moon and the fireplace. Even though she and Lord Maliss barely even resembled the same species, there would be no doubt in anyone's mind that saw her with him now that she was definitely his wife.

The dress was softer than anything she had ever worn, but it was the same shade as Lord Maliss' shirt, and the sleeves were a little more flowing than his, hemmed in a lighter blue the same as her fitted bodice and the bottom of the billowing skirt. It was belted at the waist like him as well, with a blue triangle as the clasp to echo the gold circlet holding her loose hair in place. The square bodice revealed a bit more than she was comfortable with, and it also left the dragon amulet the center of attention. Haru had fought against it, but despite her protests, there was even a little amount of makeup to heighten her features just enough to make recognizing her own reflection a chore.

It had taken until after her bath to notice, but her first glance at the large mirror even revealed that her earlobes had been pierced with delicate gold earrings while she was passed out and unable to fight against the careful process.

'_Is this all my life was leading up to? I don't think this could be any more opposite of all the plans I had ready if Machida ever looked at me.'_

It would have been such a good life. Simple. Full of love and laughter. It would have ended with her and Machida on a wooden bench outside their cottage, old and wrinkled and still attached at the hip as grandchildren played at their feet.

"Who wants to bet I won't last through dinner?" she mumbled in a very poor attempt at humor. _'With how things have been going, there's probably someone outside the room to drag me there if I don't walk.'_

"Oh, don't be silly, my lady," Agnes laughed as she nearly bounced to the door and held it open for her current mistress. "There hasn't been a single bride lost during a meal."

"Yet," Haru added, reluctantly dragging herself through the door to see a strange reptile soldier salute her smartly, though one scaly hand was on a flaming torch.

"Lord Maliss has charged me with taking you to the dining hall," he announced in a hissing voice.

Haru could do barely more than nod. The numbness that had helped her cope with Machida's engagement was back, and she was secretly grateful for it. Her poor heart felt like it was going to give out at any moment, and she had been feeling far more than what was good for her anyway.

The lizard soldier looked a little disappointed as he started marching down the dark hallway, only lit up by his own flame. "No scream for me?" he asked while waving away a group of mismatched soldiers who also seemed disappointed as they watched her miserably drag herself past them.

'_Just as I suspected. No more free will for me.' _"I'm all screamed out right now," Haru told him in perfect honesty as she followed his lead. Her throat was still sore from all the screaming she had tried after Maliss had grabbed her from the goat meadow, even with the cup of honey tea she had been given to smooth out the sound. "Maybe tomorrow if it means that much to you." _'We'll see if I last that long.'_

The numbness was helping her cope with the monsters as well, but in all honesty, the creatures that served here barely deserved the name when compared to the master of this castle.

They didn't smirk at her or steal kisses, for one thing. Or make sure that she wasn't going to be around when Hiromi had her baby.

For Hiromi, her heart throbbed in acknowledgement. After not going a single day of her life without at least exchanging jokes with her best friend, that was probably going to be one of the harder things for her to get used to.

All she could do was hope that Hiromi was giving Kamiko a hard a time as possible for forcing this to happen.

If the lizard guard had anything to say to that, Haru was too distracted to hear him. But he was still nice enough to slow down enough so that she wouldn't get lost.

This castle was too big to be a home, Haru decided as she stared at the high ceilings and wide hallways. It felt like she was trapped inside a hollowed-out mountain.

She might as well have been. It was only a shame that the mountain was hollowed out so that she could keep breathing.

A rat guard and a vulture guard straightened up a bit when the two reached the heavy doors that were being guarded, though they looked a bit surprised that the current bride wasn't being dragged by the usual squad. Without needing any prompting, the rat and vulture yanked hard on the rings to make the doors swing open to reveal the longest table she had ever seen in her life.

"Lady Maliss," the lizard soldier announced, making Haru flinch in revulsion.

As if losing her simple life and home weren't enough of an additional insult, even her name had lost its meaning in this horrible place.

At the far end of that long table, Lord Maliss was waiting by a fireplace bigger than her room in her father's cottage had been. He stopped pacing so that he could look up at her.

Even from this far away, she could see that irritating smirk.

"It's about time!" he exclaimed while quickly taking the distance between them in long strides, his red staff hitting the floor with every other step to make a sound like a ticking clock.

If Haru had eaten anything in the last twenty-four hours, she was certain that she would have thrown it up as he drew close enough for her to see that he was shamelessly looking at her up and down with approval.

"Amazing what a bath and change of clothes can do for one's appearance. Don't you agree, **dear**?" he stressed with a thin smile as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"I hate you," she muttered under her breath, secretly hoping that he'd get angry and kill her for such an open insult.

Just her luck, though, that he threw his head back and laughed like she had told the best joke of her life.

"I see the peasants' reputation for bluntness is well-deserved. How refreshing. Come along, **dear**, we don't want supper getting cold." He grabbed her hand, making her strain against him without much success as he dragged her down the long length of table.

"I'll walk normal if you let go of me!" she promised since just his contact on her skin made her flesh crawl, but he tutted as if she were only a naughty child.

"You'll have to learn that things are done differently here than in that _quaint _little village you ran away from."

Haru opened her mouth to protest that she hadn't been running away, but then immediately shut it again. _'I am __**not **__explaining what happened to this creep!'_

He did release her hand, but it was only to pull out a fancy chair and give her an expectant look.

Although the last thing she wanted to do was share a meal with him, Haru reluctantly sat down, though she was a bit startled when he pushed the heavy chair back in for her.

He soon joined her on the other end of the table, with the short side facing the huge fire between them. He even leaned his staff against his side of the table, but it was close enough to counter any move she could have made.

The meal was mostly quiet, save for when she would politely say 'thank you' to whatever monster was putting something on her plate. If that had been the worst of it, Haru probably could have eaten the whole table clean with how hungry she was. But it was a little hard to focus on food when an evil wizard was watching your every move.

Haru was certain that he was eating, too, but didn't dare take her eyes off her own plate to see for herself. She couldn't name most of the things the monster servants piled in front of her but was surprised that most of them were actually pretty good, even if she avoided touching her wine goblet. The simple village girl had never tasted wine before, but she had no intention of finding out how much she could handle with that _thing _sitting across from her.

If only she couldn't feel Maliss' eyes on her the whole time. Sizing her up? Waiting for her to say something? What _could _she even say to him that would have any effect?

More out of pride than a need to impress him, Haru was careful to use her best table manners while sending a private apology to her mother's memory. Haru hadn't been a willing student, but she had remembered most of what her mother made her learn.

She briefly noticed that her dinner knife was nice and sharp, but as soon as she thought it, the amulet throbbed a warning, and the implement flew from her hand back to its place next to one of the spoons. Her fingers tried to pry it off the table, but it was staying still enough to have been cemented there. A tired sigh escaped her throat, especially after she gave up the notion so that she could use the knife again.

Haru didn't mind the silence when compared to the alternative, but after a while, her morbid curiosity could bear it no longer. Forcing herself to take a deep breath for courage, she looked her _husband _in the eye and asked him a simple question.

"What number am I?"

Sure enough, that irritating smirk reemerged from the other side of his wine goblet before he set it down. "You are the thirteenth bride of the thirteenth year of my reign of this realm. A new record."

Record. That wasn't talk from someone that had even a little bit of regret over killing that many girls.

"I meant in general," Haru clarified, even though she'd like the new answer even less.

He laced his fingers together before resting his chin on them, still smirking at her. "One hundred and thirteen. Since that has always been my number, I thought I'd celebrate hitting it three times at once with something different."

'_Definitely not because you were running out of royal or even noble game to hunt. Not at all.' _Still, one hundred and thirteen. Her mind boggled at the number.

Haru turned her head back to her plate to fully think things over.

One hundred and thirteen. One hundred and twelve girls before her. It went without saying that at least most of them were smarter than her. They'd actually been given an education bigger than basic math and how to get stains out of laundry. One hundred and twelve girls to find all the loopholes around the castle and the amulet and failing. Royal and noble women, all from powerful families that had surely attempted rescue after rescue, but obviously failing.

Haru couldn't help but remember the rumors from some of those disastrous rescue attempts. Now that she was face to face with the evil wizard, she knew for a fact that not even an army could stop him from getting what he wanted.

There was no chance for her. If entire countries weren't able to rescue their own princesses and such, who would really waste the time or energy to try rescuing a bagmaker's daughter?

Only one, and not only was Hiromi heavily pregnant and unskilled for combat, it was doubtful that she would so much as make it out of her own country before Haru's time came, or the baby's.

… Haru wasn't going to get to be there for the baby's birth. She _promised_, but now she couldn't even dote on the child in place of the children she should have been having with Machida to ease the pain. It just wasn't fair.

"When are you going to kill me?" she asked, almost too softly to be heard. _'I don't really want this answered, but I have to know.'_

He gave a short laugh that sent chills down her spine. "That's really up to you, **dear**. I have rules, and if you should be foolish enough to break one, well…"

It wasn't hard to fill in the blanks. Haru sighed in resignation and forced herself to look up at him. "What are the rules?"

"Oh, you'll figure it out when you break one," he responded like his answer didn't mean a thing, but there was another evil grin on his lips.

Haru opened her mouth to angrily protest but stopped herself before she could utter a sound. She had to remind herself just who it was that had stolen her from the tattered remains of her simple life.

This was an evil wizard. The worst one in over a century. Not only did he steal women from their lives, he took _glee _in tallying them up. That's all she was in this place; just one more notch on his thin leather belt. If he bothered to bury his wives after he was through with them, it wasn't even all that likely that he would allow her to be buried under her own name. Especially since he still hasn't bothered asking what it is, yet.

Sulking angrily, Haru pushed her plate away from her even though she was secretly still hungry. "May I be excused?" she asked through clenched teeth, barely keeping her tone polite.

Strangely, he looked as though she had cheated him. "Oh, come now! I look forward to the screaming, the stopping of dishes as they're thrown at me and getting told 'that's not fair!' over and over! Give me _something _for the trouble it took to find you!" he nearly demanded while standing up and taking his staff in hand again.

Haru only looked at him, seeing no reason to hide the hatred in her eyes. "You don't exactly have a reputation for being fair. It explains why you beat your record this year. May I be excused?" she asked again, a little more firmly this time to make sure he heard her. _'Knowing my luck, he'll use magic to drag me back if I try to just leave."_

Lord Maliss narrowed his eyes at her, slowly walking around the short end of the table as his staff again did that click that sounded all too much like the tick of a clock every time it touched the stone floor.

Although she wasn't sure how pointing out the obvious was forbidden, Haru still closed her eyes and braced herself for a killing blow. _'So much for never killing a bride during a meal.'_

His cold strong hand wrapped itself around her right arm, tearing her from the chair with a surprised cry.

With the cry still on her lips, Maliss swung the staff around and pinned her against him by her waist, grabbed a good fistful of her hair with the hand that had held her arm, and used that grip to hold her steady while he claimed another kiss.

The one he had taken after placing the amulet around her neck was a simple peck by comparison. He had caught her with her mouth open this time, and he was taking full advantage of it.

Haru flailed and beat at his chest trying to get him off her, but nothing seemed to break his concentration as he held her tight. Waves of panic rushed up and down her body as she tried to scream, but he was keeping his mouth on hers to muffle the sound and lick at the cut he had just made on her lower lip.

From the corner of her eye, Haru spotted the only weapon she had available. Without thinking, she was just able to grab her goblet and splash the wine directly into his face.

It was a good plan. Pity her face was attached to his when she did it.

"Mm-ouch!" she yelped, breaking away on instinct as he swiftly let her go to rub at his face.

Haru's attention was centered on her eyes, since they had been open when she'd splashed the wine in order to make sure that she at least hit _his _face. The rest of her face was sticky, and even worse, now smelled and tasted like him.

Never again would she be able to even think about wine without remembering the horror of his tongue down her throat.

"You know," Lord Maliss managed to rasp once he had regained control. "You could be a great kisser if you put a bit of effort into it."

Haru stopped rubbing her eyes long enough to glare at him, tears only forming to help flush the painful wine out. "Don't expect that kind of effort. Not for you."

Ugh, that familiar smirk was back, now stained with the lipstick that had been on her own lips a moment before. "We'll see, **dear**." He turned away from her to study the flames. "You may go."

Haru didn't wait for a second invitation. She turned on her heel to march toward the door. About halfway down the long table, she looked down and noticed that she was still gripping the goblet in her left hand like it was a cudgel.

Rage bubbled in her very core! How dare that creep?! Haru had been saving her kisses for someone special! She had been saving _everything _for someone special! There hadn't been that much hope for her in the village, but there was definitely even less of a chance as an evil wizard's latest wife!

Haru turned on her heel again, switching the goblet to her right hand to aim for his head. It made her feel better to see it spin in the air in a lovely arch toward its intended target.

Maliss turned around at the last second and used his staff to freeze the goblet in midair, a mere foot from his forehead. His long black eyebrows raised as if he hadn't expected her throw to be that accurate.

"Are you happy now?!" Haru snapped at him, since she had half-expected him to do exactly that. _'Between you and Machida, I'll __**never**__ have someone special!'_

He smiled while plucking the goblet out of the air as easily as fruit in an orchard. "_Much _better. I don't know what I would have done with you if you were going to be boring."

Haru turned on her heel and exited through the large doors, knowing that it would have been too much to hope that he would have just returned her to her real home.


	3. Attention

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Three: Attention**

_I'm not asking for all your attention._

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

"Oh my!" Blondie exclaimed as Haru stormed into her room again, soaked in wine with a thin line of blood drying on her chin.

Haru nearly wheeled on the purple bird that was now looking a little frightened. "Do me a favor and say that the room comes with a toothbrush," she nearly demanded.

"Just over here," Agnes announced hurriedly, setting aside a second dress and scrambling to a wash basin with a tiny mirror to point at an occupied cup.

Haru wasted no time giving her teeth and entire mouth the best brushing of her entire life. Once the taste of Lord Maliss was gone and her thirst was quenched, she started washing the wine and blood from her face and exposed skin as well as the messed makeup. It gave her a bit of pleasure that accidentally splashing herself had blotched the black eyeliner enough to make her look like she was weeping black blood.

It might have been the biggest reason Maliss had let her leave instead of trying for another kiss or worse.

"We'll need to wash that dress before the stain sets," Blondie realized, moving her side of the body toward a wardrobe before the other head figured out what she wanted. "The second one isn't ready, so slip into this."

Haru wasn't all that interested in feeling that stickiness cling to her like that wizard's embrace, so she gave up the dress for the black lacy nightgown that was slightly too big before she finished washing off the wine from her chest and off the amulet since it kept trying to stick to her skin as an unneeded reminder of her fate.

"I wouldn't go to bed if I were you," Red told her as she also handed her mistress a pink dressing gown, depressingly the same color as Lord Maliss' cape lining. "He always expects his brides to keep the same hours as him, and it's a long way off from dawn."

Haru growled at even being forced to give up the sun's warm light, but still wrapped herself in the dressing gown. "I guess I should be grateful he only _wants _to be a vampire. I'd be in even more trouble if I started growing fangs, too." She finished tying the dressing gown closed and gingerly touched where he had bitten her lower lip in his lustful frenzy. She winced more at the memory than the pain. _'Never mind that no one would bat much of an eye at a vampire with over a hundred brides. They'd be too busy screaming in terror.'_

Thinking of vampires, she froze before getting the last of the wine off her amulet. "Does Lord Maliss ever come in here?" she begged while praying as hard as she could.

Her three attendants exchanged worried glances at each other.

"I've never seen him in here," Agnes offered with a nervous smile.

"He sleeps in another wing of the castle," Blondie explained, correctly guessing Haru's fear. "I've heard rumor that one of his earlier brides annoyed him by snoring too loudly on purpose. He loves his sleep, so…"

"He'll send for you when he wants you," Red supplied when her other head couldn't think of anything to say. "He never comes, he sends. He likes reminding everyone who's in charge, and he uses whoever is his wife at the moment to be the prime example."

A wave of relief hit Haru. The fancy room wasn't much of a sanctuary as long as it was attached to _his _castle, but at least it was somewhere for her to feel a little safe. Just knowing she wasn't going to wake up and see him looming over her with that satisfied smirk was a comfort.

It was probably a good idea to stick to the new sleeping schedule, just for one more reason to avoid such a confrontation.

"If he has no trouble killing wives, he probably does something even worse for servants that sympathize with them, right?" Haru clarified while cleaning off the amulet, since that had probably been tried by at least a few of the other brides.

Agnes nodded with a shudder. "There's a reason there aren't many girl monsters left in the castle. Please."

"I'll leave all of you out of it," the human promised with a sigh, sinking into a high back chair next to the fire to soak in its warmth. "I doubt any of you like him better than I do, anyway. Mind if I have some alone time?"

It's a good thing they agreed and took the dress with them. Haru wasn't sure what she would have done if they had tried to deny her this as well.

"You know, she's a lot nicer than Princess Peach was," she could hear Red confide to Blondie as they left her room.

"No kidding. She doesn't even throw things at us," the other head agreed as Agnes shut the door behind them.

Haru leaned back against the chair's cushions with an uncomfortable churning in her stomach.

It was only a matter of time before Maliss would take more than kisses from her. He had all but said out loud that she was his newest toy and he was definitely interested in playing with her. If their first interaction didn't prove that he wasn't going to wait for permission, then dinner was more than enough to convince her.

Haru curled up into as tight of a ball as she could on the chair, kicking off the dainty black slippers that she had been given with the fancy dress. She buried her face in her arms and knees while trying not to cry.

There was literally nothing in her future to look forward to. Knowing Maliss, even her death would be drawn out and painful. Knowing him, it probably wouldn't be enough to stop him from claiming her, even if she managed to break a rule before he was done with his game of cat and mouse.

After a long minute of slow breathing to keep her steady, Haru looked up at the moon through the glass doors. It was beginning to wane, just like her life. Who would be sitting in this chair when the moon was full again?

Haru felt selfish for taking some happiness that at least it wouldn't be Hiromi, even if Maliss decided peasants were more fun after killing her. As the last unmarried…. the last one married, that is, it would be at least five years until someone from her village was in danger from him again.

'_I need something to distract me from this. I'll go mad if I just sit here and think about dying and Lord Maliss.' _Haru forced herself to get up and limp over to where her satchel had been hanging.

As suspected, the food was gone, and the bags had been loosely stuffed in instead of the neat little package she had made what seemed like a lifetime ago. But they were still there, with her little package of needles and thread.

Haru held the satchel to her heart while making her way back to the chair, since it seemed to have the best light in the room from the fireplace and the moon outside. If she had known that she'd never see her home again, she might have packed a little differently, but now these bags were the only reminders she had left of the life that had been renounced for her. She had always worked hard to put her best work on her father's, but now that the bags were permanently hers, she was going to do even better than her best.

She pulled out the bags one by one, laying them across her lap and the arm rests of the big chair. Her large brown eyes narrowed as they darted from one satchel to another, trying to decide what she wanted to do first, and to which one.

A shadow from the other side of the glass door just came into her line of vision, making her gasp and jump to her feet thinking it was _him_.

It wasn't. The man that was just climbing over the railing of the little space beyond the glass doors was tall, taller than any human she had ever seen. The way he stumbled over his own feet said that he wasn't a ghost, but it was the only hint thanks to his extremely pale skin and dark rags that suited him for clothes.

At first Haru thought his mouth was two hard lines, first set in a frown as he made sure that he and the plain wooden staff tied to his back wasn't hitting the rose bush in the small area with him, and then turning themselves up into a smile at the sight of her. A slightly closer inspection made her realize that he was holding a pair of nails in his mouth. But why?

Haru gripped the top of her dressing gown for modesty's sake as she warily waited for him to do something.

He somewhat bashfully knocked on the glass door between them before removing the tacks from his mouth and placing them in his shirt pocket. "Your highness? I'm here to rescue you," he called loudly enough for her to hear him.

Under any other circumstances, Haru would have been flattered to embarrassment about being called that. Closing her eyes and counting to ten, she managed to shove her feet back into the black slippers she had worn for dinner and made sure that the stranger saw her wedge her foot about an inch from the door before opening it a mere crack.

"You're too late, I'm not a princess or anyone important," she hissed through the crack while keeping one hand at the collar of the dressing gown. "I'm a bagmaker's daughter. See?" she asked while pointing at her father's work, now scattered on the chair and floor from her earlier surprise. "You won't be getting any reward from rescuing me, and I live too far away to be worth the trouble of sending home, even if you could get me out of here."

He blinked in surprise before giving her a careful look. "You look like a princess to me," he pointed out.

Haru buried her face in one hand since she was still keeping herself covered with the other. "_Now _I meet someone who thinks so," she groaned while fighting the urge to bang her head on the glass door.

With her hand on her face, one finger found the circlet still on her brow. She yanked it off and threw it as hard as she could at the opposite wall.

It was satisfying to watch it break in half, and Haru would have felt bad about getting the ladies in waiting in trouble if she hadn't seen for herself that there was literally a box of them for backups.

Feeling a little bit better, she turned enough to put her foot in front of the door again, not liking that it had slid open another two inches while she was occupied. The intruder was skinny enough that just one more inch might allow him to slip into her room and get her into **real **trouble. "Listen…" _'Drat, I didn't get his name!'_

"Tack," he offered with a bow that nearly cut his impressive height in half and make the staff on his back tap sharply on the glass on accident. "Tack the Cobbler."

"Nice to have met you, Tack. I'm Haru Yoshioka," she introduced while giving a tiny curtsy out of sheer habit. "I appreciate your offer of assistance, but you should leave before anyone finds out you're here. My fate is sealed. You could still have a chance to live."

He blinked his large blue eyes at her like he couldn't believe his ears. "You want to _stay_?"

Haru wiggled the amulet around her grip so that she could show it to the strange cobbler. "Ever since I made the mistake of wanting some peace and quiet for a day, it's not about what I want. Maliss has made it very clear that there's no escape, and there have been enough girls before me to have found all the loopholes he already fixed. I can't even kill myself thanks to this thing," she mourned while glaring at the dragon etched on the red stone and wishing the chain were just a little longer so that she could slip it off her neck.

"… So, what are you going to do about it?" Tack asked in morbid curiosity.

Haru shrugged before leaning against the glass door and accidentally closing it. "I don't know," she mumbled under her breath, so miserable that she barely noticed Tack lean enough to press his ear close to where her mouth was located on the other side. "He has a set of rules, but they'll only mean something if he decides it does. I wouldn't be all that shocked if he just gets bored with whoever his current victim is and decides some random thing is worth killing them over. For all I know, I'll be dead by this time tomorrow."

"Are you ready to die?" Tack said a little loudly so that she'd hear him through the glass.

"Is anyone ever ready to die?" Haru countered, though she was able to smile a little. _'The sooner I die, the sooner I can see Mother again.'_

"I meant 'isn't there anything you'd like to do before you die'?" Tack clarified with a slight bit of annoyance in his tone.

Haru sighed in longing. "A lot of things. Well, not a lot, but enough to make me happy." Her heart grew heavy in her chest. "But since I'm married to the most evil wizard in over a century, none of it's possible anymore."

"Is there anything I can do to help you out? Anything at all?" he nearly demanded.

Haru looked at him with her dead eyes. "One thing. You can leave before you get the both of us killed by talking to me. Goodbye, Tack."

Just to make sure he knew she meant business, she locked the door and drew the curtains over the glass.

"I'm pretty sure that I could help you out with more than that!" Tack called out in indignation.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Lord Maliss would eat you alive if you tried," Haru called back while gathering her father's work off the floor. "Now get going."

Then she sat down to her embroidery and ignored every sound outside her room until her ladies in waiting returned with a fresh dress.

Just to be a good sport to the cobbler and let him have the best chance for escape, she didn't say a word about her visitor.

ooOoo

Haru would have died before admitting it to anyone in the castle, but one thing she did love to do was stay up as late as she could without compromising her chores in the morning. Now that she no longer had a morning, or even chores other than her husband's summons, she secretly enjoyed not having to force herself to go to bed until after the sun had risen.

Though she had to admit to herself, between taking care of livestock, chopping wood, or other general tasks she had to perform everyday and spending any time with Lord Maliss, she would have cheerfully shoveled cow manure the rest of her life.

She was certainly getting her morning exercise in, though in a way she never imagined was possible. She strained with all her might against the sunrise, but her feet slid disobediently backward as the amulet around her throat throbbed in warning.

The ladies in waiting merely waited on the other side of the glass doors, watching her with grave eyes until the weak ray of sunhine was enough to push her back into the room.

"We did try to tell you, my lady," Red offered with a weak smile as she and her sister closed the doors and Agnes closed the dark curtains again to block out the rising sun.

Haru fell forward as if a door had suddenly been thrown open in a childish attempt to make her fall on her face.

Haru laid against the thick carpet panting heavily, enraged that she wasn't so much as allowed to feel sunlight on her skin anymore. _'If I live long enough, I'll be able to give Tack a run for the palest person alive.' _Haru couldn't resist almost simultaneously offering a prayer that her skin would never take on the greenish cast that Lord Maliss had.

"There now," Agnes tried to comfort her while helping the human to her knees. "You got to see the sun rise. Now to bed with you."

Haru grumbled like she was thinking of mutiny, but her headache and fatigue were reminding her in strong terms that a pillow and blanket would do wonders.

The ladies in waiting had been willing to let her 'stay up' but standing on the balcony in her dressing gown had been a little much for the monsters to swallow. But they'd obviously had practice with dressing a young girl because Haru was back into the black lace and tucked into the large bed before she really knew she'd gotten to her feet.

"Rest well, my lady," Blondie wished her with a smile on her beak as the bed curtains closed in to leave Haru to complete darkness.

She experimentally spread her arms and legs out as much as she could under the mountain of blankets. It amazed her that she couldn't feel the edge of the bed in any direction. Her bed back home was barely a shelf on the wall by comparison.

But she had always slept on it just fine, except during the past year where her dreams of Machida had turned into nightmares.

Machida. He was married by now, too. Haru had always dreamed of having a wedding day with him, but not to separate people. _He _at least got to have someone that was good and kind. He was _going _to be someone good and kind to his wife.

It was just so unfair. Up until coming here, Haru had always tried to be kind, no matter what. Who could really blame her for the eggs when the 'request' was really a demand, as if Kamiko were the high elder of the village. Or even a queen.

Kamiko would have made a better bride for Lord Maliss than her. They could have had haughty contests to pass the time if he could have gotten over the fact they were closer in age than any of the girls Maliss seemed to favor.

She curled up into a fetal position on the bed and cried herself to sleep. But she still felt like a traitor for enjoying how soft and warm her new bed was.

_**Night Two**_

Haru had to say this for Lord Maliss; he did learn from his mistakes.

While the contents of dinner the following night were nearly the same as the night before, the most noticeable change was that instead of wine, her goblet was filled to the brim with plain water. Not only did this amuse her, it also meant that Haru didn't have to spend most of the meal feeling like she was going to die of thirst.

Haru kept her eyes on her plate again and made no effort to talk to the thing passing itself off as her husband. Last time, that had ended with a kiss that had very literally given her nightmares- daymares?-, and she was not going to do **anything** that might result in another frenzy of his 'passion'.

Just as she was about to raise a spoonful of soup to her lips, a tiny red snake poked its head out of her golden bowl to hiss at her in warning.

Haru screamed in surprise, dropping the spoon and slapping the bowl clear off the table and into the fireplace, where the soup sizzled and popped loudly as the bowl already began to melt.

Lord Maliss laughed and applauded with one hand against his thigh while the other hand gripped his staff. "That was a marvelous scream, **dear**. I think you just may be one of the better screamers when given the proper motivation."

Haru glared at him while panting, one hand at her heart to get the pulse being echoed loudly by the amulet under control. _'He has more power than any magician in a century, and he wastes it on stupid pranks.' _"Is that your way of asking for the salt?" she snarled at him.

He pointed a dismissive finger at a tiny silver shaker next his plate with a small shake of the head. "Consider it a warning. If all I wanted was something to sit across me for meals, I'd have a statue erected where you are faster than you can imagine."

Haru glared at him before taking a sip of water. "I bet it would be less of a hassle than going hunting every other week or so."

"It would," he agreed with the air of someone that had already given it careful consideration. "But there are certain downsides to such an arrangement." He cast another appraising eye at the part of her body he could see from his side of the table.

Haru cringed at the unwanted attention before he continued.

"It would be a lot more boring, for one thing. My minions aren't exactly sophisticated conversationalists."

Haru glared at him while folding her arms over her chest, trying not to be too obvious about wanting to cut off his line of vision. "I don't think I've been that much of a talker, either."

He grinned wickedly as his thumb thoughtfully ran itself on the staff's strange lines that formed the dragon's sinews before reaching the head. "No, but you are certainly easier on the eyes than all my minions put together."

'_That was both mean and not very fair on them.' _"I think they're nice," she defended them since even she would have had trouble arguing against that point. "At least the ones I've met so far are. They may be a little odd, but I haven't met a person yet that isn't at least a little odd."

He seemed surprised at her response but leaned forward with a terrible eagerness. "Is that what I am to you? A little 'odd'?"

Haru studied him carefully. He seemed to be in a better mood tonight thanks to heckling her, but other than his fearsome reputation, she literally knew nothing about him. If refusing to explode into a fury the night before was worth a brutal kissing session, what would he consider her honest opinion to be worth?

"I'm waiting," he reminded her, his long-nailed hands clenching at both the staff and the table's edge with anticipation.

"I'm debating whether or not it's worth the punishment to tell you," she answered truthfully.

He twisted his staff meaningfully in one hand with his usual confident smirk. "I can guarantee that you won't be leaving this table unless I get an answer. Go on, give me your worst insult."

Haru took in a deep breath and gave it her best shot. "I think you're a freak of nature that should never have been born."

He actually managed to look disappointed. "Drat. I was hoping you would have had something new for me."

"Number one hundred and thirteen," she reminded him while one finger slid around her goblet's edge in thought. "Did any of the others talk about vampires to you? Because-" she immediately cut herself off when she caught the terrible look on his face.

His dark eyes were flashing with something wickedly menacing as he rose from his chair with a more evil grin than usual. "I _**love **_it when a wife mentions-"

Haru had also learned her lesson from last night. Not waiting for him to finish his sentence or finish walking around the table's short end, Haru forced the chair out from the table enough to keep a good ten paces between her and her suddenly amorous husband. _'__**Why **__did I have to bring that up?!'_

Lord Maliss didn't even seem surprised at her silent insistence at keeping some distance between them. If anything, he seemed encouraged by it. All he did was increase his pace when she did the same, following the length of the long table. "-when a wife mentions vampires. It always makes me want to imitate them."

Haru hurriedly put both hands to her throat, already imagining the biting and sucking he was likely to do if he got his hands on her. A cut lip could be overlooked, especially thanks to the red lipstick she was forced to wear for dinner, but those kind of marks on her neck would be obvious for _weeks_.

Knowing him, he'd refuse to let her cover them up. He'd want everyone to see them.

She turned and ran, but unfortunately guessed that the large doors and sole exit from the room would only open if Lord Maliss wished it. Without a better option, Haru ran around the short end of the table to go for the other long side, but his steely hand managed to grab her wrist and pull her into a chest that shook slightly with a triumphant laugh before she even made the turn to the long side.

Haru tried protecting her neck by raising her shoulders as high as she could, but Maliss had obviously done this part to more than one bride. With a practiced flair, the hand that held the staff bent both of her arms back enough at a useless angle so that his free hand could forcefully pry her head over to give him the best possible position to administer attention to her delicate throat. She still tried to break free, of course, but she struggled not to cry as she felt his face get closer and closer until his cold lips were trailing just behind her ear and guiding her brown hair out of the way-

"Lord Maliss!" one of the soldiers shouted while violently throwing open the door.

Haru could feel his teeth become bared against her neck before he twisted his head to look behind them.

"**It had better be important**," he snarled so darkly that his dragon form could be heard through his 'human' throat. But he didn't loosen his grip on Haru in the slightest.

"Um, s-sorry, my lord," the soldier apologized, sounding scared to his core. "But y-you wanted to be t-told. _It _exploded."

Maliss looked enraged, but whatever the soldier meant must have been important, because he was able to force himself to release his hold on her after stealing one kiss to her tender neck. "To be continued tomorrow," he informed her before leaving the dining hall.

Haru wanted to breath a huge sigh of relief, but it came out as a haggard gasp for air. It was probably too much to hope that he'd forget her comment about vampires before dinner tomorrow.

Holding her arms tightly against herself, she gave nods of acknowledgement to the two rat guards standing outside the open door before letting the usual lizard guard escort her back to her room.

Felix rolled his large yellow eye to look back at her as he led the way down a cold hallway and up an impressive staircase. "You didn't have to stand up for us, you know. He says that to every bride he brings home."

Haru nodded without much surprise or enthusiasm. "That's why I'm brushing off his idea of compliments. When he says something I know for sure is solely for me, I'll be more flattered." _'I just wish it wasn't a horny wizard that first noticed I'm a girl.'_

Felix gave a short cynical laugh as they finished climbing the stairs. "Sounds like you'll never be flattered again."

"It does, doesn't it?" Haru agreed before managing a look up at him and smiling weakly. "I'm not trying to get anyone killed except maybe me. I meant what I said."

Felix sighed and gave her a warm bow when they finally reached her room. "I'll miss you when the time comes. Even if you don't scream for me."

She gave him another smile and helpless shrug before he opened the door and let her through.

Red and Blondie were teamed against Agnes in a game of chess, but they immediately lost interest in the game when she entered.

"Well, this is better!" Blondie noted happily while inspecting Haru's face closely. "No blood or wine this time!"

"_This_ time," Haru agreed with a sick feeling in her stomach. "Agnes, is there some spare cloth lying around the castle?"

The almost frog-lipped servant gave her a wide grin. "What would you like made, my lady?"

That made Haru start in surprise. "Well, I was going to make it myself, but now that I think of it, there might be some already. I mentioned vampires-"

All three of her ladies in waiting groaned in immediate understanding.

But that didn't stop Red from looking over both sides of Haru's neck with a scrutinized stare. "How did you manage to get away from him?" she asked in genuine astonishment.

"Well, a soldier had a message," Haru admitted, feeling ashamed that she hadn't managed to put up a decent fight. "But Maliss implied he was going to pick up where he left off tomorrow. Is there something to…?"

Agnes opened a trunk by the foot of the canopied bed to start laying things over her scrawny arms, all in a darker shade of blue than most of Haru's dress. "You have scarves, cowls, and- ooh! I forgot about the wimple!"

Haru almost wanted to say, 'it's a good thing I'm not the only one he's done this to', but that was wrong on so many levels. "_Will _he let me wear any of it in front of him?" she nearly pleaded.

Red gave her a pitying look. "I think you already know the answer to that. It's the reason the trunk isn't as full as it used to be."

"Disgusting creep," Haru muttered under her breath, marching over to her favorite chair by the fireplace and falling into it without a care for manners. One hand reached up and ripped the new circlet off, but she slammed it on the little table next to her instead of hurling it against the wall again.

"Would you like more alone time, my lady?" Blondie asked in sympathy.

Haru could only nod. "Thank you for understanding."

They gave her smiles and small offers of encouragement while exiting.

The moment they left, she leapt off the chair and washed her face clean from the makeup again. That way she could hold herself in a tight fetal position without fear of getting the dress dirty and creating more work for her servants. The fetal position was probably the only way she was ever going to be held without wanting to escape.

She wasn't going to get off so easily tomorrow, she could feel it. Maliss was enjoying torturing her too much to stop now.

Still, Haru couldn't help wondering about what it was that had exploded that Lord Maliss thought was more important than making her bleed again. She could only pray that it wasn't Tack, and that he had managed to get away after all. Maybe it was a magic potion? But for what?

'_I really don't know a thing about the man,' _she concluded while rocking herself slightly in her comfortable chair. _'Other than abducting wives and fending off anyone that tries to take them back, I don't know what he does with his time. I guess I should be grateful that he doesn't spend the entire night inventing reasons why I'm 'secretly' giving him signs to move forward with the marriage.' _

Haru shuddered at the thought. _'Even when he isn't around, he finds ways to torture me.'_

Without warning, there was a loud sound on her balcony, like something falling out of the sky. Haru half-jumped out of her seat, landing on the carpet in an untidy sprawl. When she managed to look up, she saw that it was another visitor.

He was as short as Tack had been tall, and almost seemed too colorful by the same comparison. His complexion was a healthy pink, and his clothes were blue and a bright red that were completely unsuitable for sneaking around the dark castle.

He knocked on the glass with a huge gloved hand before waving at her in big sweeps to make sure she noticed him. "Yoo hoo! Princess!" he called cheerfully.

Haru growled deep in her throat as she got to her feet and stomped close enough to do the same foot wedge as the previous night. "Why don't you scream a little louder? Lord Maliss told me not even half an hour ago that he loves it when people scream for him," she had to inform the man after opening the door just a crack.

Still, for a guy that only came up to her chest, she was impressed that he had managed to get up here.

"So sorry," he immediately apologized, holding his red hat between his hands with a hopeful smile. "But I thought you would like to come home, yes?"

Haru took in a deep breath to calm her irritation, since she knew the man meant well. "I can't. Unless you've got something to get this… _thing _off my neck," she stated while giving the amulet a really good yank.

But the chain was too strong, and it still felt like her veins had the amulet directly connected to her heart.

He rubbed his big bushy mustache in thought. "If I can, you'll come away with me?" he asked while placing the strange red hat on his head.

"Forget it," Haru couldn't resist laughing even though there was no cheer in her tone. "I'm certain that Lord Maliss made sure pretty early that he's the only one that can remove it, or the bride has to be dead before it can come off." She then scowled at the uncomfortable truth. "I hate to say it, but he's too clever to miss something that big." She then blinked and gave him a suspicious look. "How did you get up here? Or past whatever those things are surrounding the castle?"

He gave a dismissive wave with his large hand. "The horned wolves? They're not so bad, especially if you can do _this_."

Crouching down slightly, he managed a jump that went far out of Haru's line of vision. Gasping in surprise, Haru opened the door and walked out to see where he had gone. She immediately regretted it since she had already kicked off her shoes and the night air had turned the stone deathly cold. She looked around while holding her arms against the chill but couldn't see where he could have gone.

"Up here, Princess!" he called to her while waving happily, just now making her realize that some room had a balcony higher and to the left of hers.

Haru had no choice but to clap in appreciation, even as she nearly hopped from one foot to the other from the cold stones until retreating back into her room and the warm rugs that waited for her. "That's impressive, all right. But I'm pretty sure that it will take more than jumping to defeat Lord Maliss. He'd probably just make you hang in the air and beat you with his staff until your insides came out."

He jumped back onto her balcony just in time to see her start closing the glass door. "Wait!" he yelled in a panic before nearly running up to her to plead with his large blue eyes. "Don't you want me to rescue you?"

"Do you have something that can remove this thing?" Haru asked while yanking on the amulet again. "On top of that, do you have an escape plan? Lord Maliss might not care about me personally, but I can guarantee that he'd be after us in a heartbeat." She could only shudder at what he would consider a worthy punishment for managing to get out from under his thumb for even a short amount of time.

Haru's blood nearly froze in her veins. Agnes, Red, and Blondie were surely going to take the fall if she managed to escape when she was under their care. _'Curse my basically decent nature!'_

The strange little man seemed ready to answer the first question but the second one struck him dumb.

Haru sighed, hating herself for this as she finished closing the glass door. "Thank you for offering to help, but you should leave before someone realizes where all the yelling's coming from. The only way I'll be able to leave this place is if Lord Maliss dies. If you should meet any other rescuers on the way out of the Realm of Doom, tell them that they should focus on plans for actually defeating Lord Maliss instead of trying to slip me out of his grasp. I'm not the only one suffering in this place, you know."

He genuinely seemed shocked at that last part. "Who else is there?"

Haru was answering before she had time to think it over. "The ones serving him, for one thing. I'm getting the feeling that they're even more afraid of him than I am, and while they aren't in danger of getting molested every night, I've gotten the idea that he isn't exactly kind to them when my back is turned."

Just trying to find out names and saying 'thank you' to the ones bringing dishes to the dinner table seemed to put Haru on a pedestal to those strange monsters. She wasn't trying to do it on purpose, and it wasn't like she had set out to learn everyone's name, but even the little effort she had made seemed to count for a lot with the ones she interacted with.

The little man gave a dismissive sniff as he unlatched a strange stick with a pink cup on the end from his belt to swing it around like a sword. "Why are you wasting your sympathy on monsters? Just let me take that necklace off and we can leave."

Haru's heart immediately turned cold to him, and she no longer cared if he was bluffing about being able to get rid of the amulet. "Goodbye," she informed him while locking the door and grabbing a handful of curtain.

"Wait, Princess!" he protested while pressing his face against the glass. He was still holding whatever that silly stick with the cup was.

"I'm sorry, sir," Haru apologized while firmly closing the curtain over his panicked expression. "But your princess is in another castle."


	4. Need

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Four: Need**

_I don't need it. _

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

_**Night Three**_

"Pig. Jerk. Snake. Beast. Monster. _Thing_." Haru hissed insult after insult under her breath while trying not to let tears roll down her face at every fresh wave of pain emanating from her neck and shoulder.

"Shh, my lady," Agnes consoled her while gripping Haru's hand and squeezing it rhythmically in her efforts for distraction. "You're doing so well, and they're almost finished."

Red and Blondie were trying to be gentle, Haru could tell, but it still hurt.

Those talon hands carefully pinned the last bandage into place, completely covering her neck, right shoulder, and crossing over her chest just to keep the medicine and bandages on the fresh wounds. It didn't help that the amulet always seemed to fall in the way, but it was now contentedly resting on the bandages instead of her skin, still thumping in time with her heart.

"You handled the cleaning up a lot better than any of the princesses did," Red tried to tell her kindly as she and her sister began putting all their medical supplies back onto the tray that had been waiting for Haru's return to her room.

Haru scoffed angrily, though she knew that they meant well. "Peasants get hurt all the time. Princesses are probably sheltered from everything related to pain. I don't know if I'll be able to raise my arm right now," Haru said apologetically when Agnes readied the fresh dress from where it had been resting on the bed.

It was identical to the first dress she had been presented with. All of her dresses looked the same so that there could never be a mistake as to who was keeping her here.

"We've done this before, my lady," she reminded the girl sadly, carefully folding the large skirt up so that it was a simple matter to get the arm with the bandages on it through the sleeve first to make the procedure as painless as possible.

The neck was wide enough to fit over Haru's head easily enough, and it wasn't that hard to get her other arm through the sleeve before Red and Blondie tightened the strings in the back to more fully show off the figure the poor girl never knew she _had_.

Haru stole an involuntary glance at her own reflection in the giant mirror not that far from her. As she had feared the night before, the placement of the bandages made it clear that she was the victim of a vampire or a near assassination.

Or just the victim of a husband with sharp teeth and no compassion for cries of pain. Haru's next shudder wracked her whole body as she tried to block out the memory of dinner that evening.

"Why don't you lay down for a while?" Blondie asked, taking her hand in order to lead the girl to the large bed. "You didn't lose that much blood, but I don't think it would be a good idea for you to handle a needle right now."

"Like I could do any real harm with just a needle," Haru muttered under her breath, stopping just before Red and Blondie assisted her into the bed. "Could I have a cowl?"

Agnes wordlessly fished around the trunk until she could slide the soft cloth over Haru's head and fan out her dark brown hair over it.

Much to her displeasure, Agnes also pulled out the amulet so that it could rest in plain view.

"Thank you," Haru mumbled miserably, not fighting as the three urged her to rest on top of her blankets. "Before you go, would you mind closing the outside curtains?" she asked while crossing her arms over her chest as if she were already dead.

Red looked at her with surprise. "I thought you enjoyed watching the outside world."

"Not today. Tonight, I mean." _'If I have to deal with another 'rescuer' tonight, I just might alert the guards instead of giving the poor sap the chance to get away. __**If **__that last one got away, he was almost begging to get caught.' _"Please."

Red and Blondie gave each other a worried look, but still hopped over to the glass doors to do what she wanted.

"Do you want the bed curtains closed as well, my lady?" Agnes asked, but received a shake of the head for an answer. "Very well." She made sure that the little silver bell that would summon them was within reach before leaving with the two-headed bird.

Haru stared up into her black canopy, letting the tears come without trying to make too much noise about it. Her cuts and bruises throbbed with every heartbeat under the cowl, but since the medicine was already on them, Haru could do literally nothing more about the pain than lay in perfect stillness.

'_I wonder if he was lying about the rules,' _she couldn't help thinking while repressing the need to curl up into a fetal position and cry. _'At this rate, him 'concluding' our marriage is going to end with me becoming a pile of shredded meat.' _She was too tired to even shudder this time.

It was probably going to happen tomorrow. If he was this rough with all his wives, it was no wonder he went through so many. If anything, it was a wonder that it took him this long to get thirteen brides in one year.

'_It's not even winter yet.' _There would be a few more unless he slowed down a little. But there was no one to reign him in, no _thing _he respected enough to just find one soul to torture like any other man.

Her left ear literally twitched as it picked up a sound she hadn't heard in a while.

Music. It was a string instrument, being played very soft and gentle. But the sound was coming from outside the balcony doors.

"Please no," she groaned, covering her face with one hand. "I just can't today-_tonight_."

"_I love you too much,_

"_To live without you loving me back._

"_I love you too much,_

"_Heaven's my witness and this is a fact."_

Despite herself, her heart broke for that beautiful singer. He must have been the lover of someone that Lord Maliss had taken and was now hoping to signal her. Poor man. How many brides had it been since his love was taken?

Haru tried to will herself into sitting up so that she could tell him that it was too late, but the cuts on her throat and shoulder were demanding that she stay exactly where she was. Her lower lip trembled with frustration, but she laid her head back on the pillow and prayed that he would get the idea if she just stayed silent.

The curtains were drawn this time. Was it the light from the fireplace that kept alerting men that a young lady was being kept in here?

"_I live for your touch_

"_I whisper your name,_

"_Night after night."_

Haru doubted that. Other than offering her name to the first 'rescuer', no one here had bothered to learn her name. She was '**dear**' to _him_ so that he wouldn't have to remember any names, 'my lady' to everyone else, and 'Lady Maliss' when Felix would announce her for dinner. Lord Maliss really seemed to enjoy hearing her addressed like that.

She hated to betray old Momo, but she was forced to admit that her visitor was far better on his instrument.

The musician kept singing, breaking his own heart and hers.

"_Heaven knows your name_

"_I've been praying to have you_

"_Come here by my side._

"_Without you, a part of me is missing_

"_Just to make you my home I will fight."_

Haru started crying again, but not for him this time as her heart seemed to scream in agony.

Words like that have never been for her. She had been praying, waiting, wishing that her time would come if she could just keep doing the right thing, and for what?! For Lord Maliss to come out of nowhere and make her wish she had never been born?! It would have been kinder for her to have been smothered as a baby or met up with a bad accident while she was a child! Why couldn't the fever have taken her like it did her mother?!

The singer sounded like he had been a fair distance from the balcony, but as his song drew to a triumphant close, his voice became closer and closer until she could just hear the tap of a shoe hitting the stone outside her window.

"_If you love me…_

"_As much," _he finally finished, letting the instrument trail off. He didn't say anything for a long time, but after a while, there was a somewhat hesitant tap on the glass doors.

Haru had to brace herself to speak to the man. "The one you sang that for is long gone," she called in as strong a voice as she could manage. "I can't come to the doors because tonight was… rough on me. Please go away."

That seemed to startle him for a while.

"What happened to make it so rough on you?" a musical voice asked, almost as pleasing to the ear when speaking as when singing.

Haru couldn't keep her sobs quiet, although she tried. "J-Just go away, okay? I need to be alone, and you're making it worse!"

"But-"

"I'm reaching for the bell," she told him, though hissing in pain as she forced her arm to angle right. "You better start running, I mean it."

"If you would just-"

"Agnes! Red! Blondie!" Haru called while pulling her arm down so that she could more comfortably ring the silver bell. "There's an intruder on the balcony!"

The three ladies in waiting took a little more time storming into the room than Haru would have liked, but at least the balcony was deserted by the time they calmed their mistress down enough to take a look.

"There's no one here, my lady," Agnes assured her while obviously checking around all the corners in case the latest 'rescuer' was hiding behind a flowerpot out there. "Are you sure you heard someone?"

"I thought I did," Haru reported, allowing herself to sound just a shade uncertain so that they wouldn't organize a search for the man. She didn't actively _hate _whoever that musician was, she just wanted to be left alone.

Haru couldn't even make herself get worried over whether or not he could have helped her. A smart man would have known to go after Lord Maliss before approaching her or doing something as audible as singing.

After convincing her ladies in waiting to stay in silence, Haru couldn't help but wonder about that as her mind slowly drifted to sleep.

That was three intruders in as many nights. And two of them were so bad at sneaking, they should have been caught long before reaching her window.

Why _hadn't _they been caught?

ooOoo

A hand touched her shoulder, sending shock waves of pain through the rest of her body. Haru's eyes snapped open as she cried out in agony.

The bed curtain had been tossed back enough that a shadow was across her blankets from the one candle that Red had left burning. Much to Haru's surprise, it wasn't the shadow of any of her ladies.

"Keep it down, Haru," a familiar voice hissed, though it seemed to be from another life.

Haru stayed perfectly still as her eyes went huge, since she was laying on her good side and away from the one casting the shadow. It couldn't be. It just… wasn't possible.

"… _Machida_?" she whispered, the name even tasting strange on her tongue as she turned her head enough to see him.

"Who else would it be?" he asked with a bit of annoyance as he pulled the bed covers off the top part of her body with one hand since he had a plain wooden staff in the other hand. It looked like it had started its life as a slightly crooked tree branch.

Forgetting that she had been transferred to a more form-fitting lace nightgown the color of night, Haru forced herself to painfully rise to a sitting position to stare.

It _was _Machida! But it was him like she had never seen him before, he was actually looking at her! He had never looked at her like this before!

Come to think of it, he had never looked at Sakura like this before, either. Haru had to quickly look around to be sure that she hadn't dreamed living a nightmare in Lord Maliss's castle.

Haru looked at Machida, wondering if maybe _he _was the dream. "What… _how_?"

He ripped his eyes off her flimsy excuse of a nightgown to smile charmingly at her. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to take you home. So we can finally be together."

Haru gaped at his answer. It was the one thing she had ever wanted to hear from him. Just a week ago, she'd have sold her soul to get him to talk to her like that.

But… for some unfathomable reason… hearing it now made something deep within her **snap**.

Ignoring the pain flaming on her neck and shoulder, she pounced on him hard enough to knock him onto the pink rug next to her bed. She saw flames dance behind her eyes at the obvious fact that although he was surprised by her enthusiasm, he was enjoying it more deeply than she had ever seen before as the branch staff fell just slightly out of reach for him.

That enjoyment only increased when she pointedly used her knees to pin his arms down and place one hand on his chest, directly below his neck.

That alien smirk was wiped clean away when she delivered the first punch.

It was wonderful. A euphoria like she had never experienced before. She could feel the beginning of the scabs on her neck and shoulder rip open in protest, but it was nothing compared to the sheer joy she felt landing punch after punch on that face she once worshiped.

"How _**dare **_you!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she continued to pound around his screams of pain. "Eight years, Machida! _Eight years _you made me wait, you get married to Sakura, and out of nowhere, you decide that I really **am** a girl?! You pig! You and your witch of a mother are the reason Maliss has been gnawing on me like a favorite bone! All you had to do was care that I was hurting, and none of this would have happened! You selfish brat! This! Is! All! Your! Fault!"

Haru punctuated every word of the last sentence with its own punch, delighting in the warm blood that covered her fist. Six years of mucking a cow's stable and chopping wood were finally paying off, for although her hand hurt almost as bad as her neck and shoulder, her arm was still going strong as it made mush out of that once-handsome face. He flailed to get her off, but as the apprentice of his tailor father, he didn't have nearly the muscle-toning that she did. It was surprisingly easy to keep him pinned as she started savagely scratching at his face with both hands since she couldn't do much else without releasing his flailing arms from her leg pin.

Then something odd happened. Her energy just… left…

_**Night Four**_

Haru tiredly flickered her eyes open, feeling even more tired and sore than when she had briefly woken up at dawn to be switched into the nightgown. "Ow…" she groaned lowly.

Using a rope that her mistress had never noticed before, Agnes opened all of the bed curtains with a terrified expression. "Um, how are you feeling? My lady?"

"Ow," Haru clarified, sinking deeper under her blankets in sheer exhaustion. She tried to raise her right arm to feel her forehead, but it was strangely heavy, and was throbbing with a pain at least comparable to her neck and shoulder. Although she knew she shouldn't have been able to tell, she could feel that the wrappings were different from the bandages that Red and Blondie had put around her the previous night.

With a certain amount of effort, she was able to raise her right hand to see the bandages circling it like a fighter.

Haru blinked and tried to sit up. "Ow," she repeated instead of the 'how did _that _happen?' she had meant to say. A glance to her left revealed a different rug than what had been there last night.

Her heartbeat quickened as her eyes went wide. No. Had that been real?

"You had a daymare, my lady," Red told her, coming forward to grip the undamaged hand with her sister. "We heard you screaming, but when we came in to see what was wrong, you were pounding the ground like a madwoman. We even had to replace the rug because of your blood on it."

Haru blinked and laughed weakly at herself while resting her head back on the pillow. _'Of course that wasn't real. Machida thinks I'm a vegetable he doesn't want to eat, and he never could have gotten here that fast. Not even for Sakura.'_

Then she noticed it was sundown. "Time for my bath before dinner?" she asked in resignation, even though she couldn't even sit up for some reason. "We all know it won't end well for me if I try to say-"

"Dinner was cancelled, my lady," Blondie reported, though her chipper attitude seemed a little forced tonight. "Lord Maliss received some news he didn't like, so he's focusing on that for tonight. The kitchens are already preparing a small meal to send up to you. Why don't you spend tonight resting and letting those wounds heal?"

If her dream hadn't been enough to put her in a good mood, **that **certainly would have done the trick!

ooOoo

After a few more hours of unconsciousness, Machida slowly rose back to the world of the living. He slowly looked at the large mirror he had passed out in front of to check on the current state he was in.

Most of the bone structure of his face had gone back to its original shape, but the cuts from Haru's fingernails had turned into scabs since the last time he passed out from a healing spell.

That was the problem; healing spells were pretty much the opposite of his specialty, and they required far more concentration than his usual style. On top of that, he had never needed to heal wounds this severe before.

The worst he'd ever had to heal before this was his liver after drinking more wine than he should have the previous evening.

While he had been out for the count, one of the freaks that served him had left a covered dish and a flask of his favorite wine where he could easily reach it from his crumpled position on the floor.

He growled deep in his throat before eating everything he could and draining the flask before readying himself for the next round. _'Out of all those sieges, and all those would-be 'heroes', and it was a __**peasant girl **__that's come the closest to actually killing me?!'_

He passed out again after performing the healing spell for the fourth time, but when he woke up long after midnight, there were no more fractures, no long cuts over his face. Gripping his staff with one hand, he twisted it enough to encourage a cold sensation to change the sturdy wood into a rare red obsidian, the top of the staff reforming into his alternate shape of a dragon's head.

It took a bit of effort, but as he forced himself to use the staff to get to his feet, the change from Machida to Lord Maliss started at the hand holding the staff and rippled out until the last of the peasant homespun tunic and healthy complexion had disappeared.

Someone had left him food again. But he didn't dare lean down to pick up where it lay for him on the ground since his head was still throbbing enough to say that he needed to take it easy for a while. Even using his magic right now would be unwise.

After perhaps a half hour of resting on the closest chair, he forced himself to get up and lean heavily on the staff in order to leave the random room he had ordered his bumbling servants to leave him in.

He would have preferred to be transferred to his own chambers after that horrible encounter, but the freak show he called his staff couldn't work together smoothly enough to make the move as painless as possible. He had just barely been able to use his wife's stolen energy to start the first healing spell before passing out; there was no telling if he would have been able to wake up if he had waited until they had nearly bounced him all the way to his own quarters.

As dumb as the monsters were, he couldn't help being grateful that they at least knew to stay out of his path when he was in a mood like this.

After what felt like ages, he pushed the door open to the one room in the castle other than the treasury that he always made sure to lock with both steel and magic.

The most valuable and irritating treasure in his possession was smirking before Maliss even got a good look at it.

"**You told me she loved that boy**," he snarled, barely able to slam the door shut behind him.

"_I cannot lie, Lord Maliss,_

"_What I said was true._

"_But you left to seduce_

"_Before I was through."_

Lord Maliss growled under his breath, grateful that he at least already had a comfortable chair within range to see the large ornate mirror. Although it took him longer than normal, the evil wizard settled himself comfortably before glaring at the silver-cast face forged above the glass. Vowing once again to never let the staff get farther than arm's length away, he set it over his lap and leaned forward slightly. "Then give me the information that **might **have been useful before that wench pounded my head into a pudding."

That fat pale face sniffed at his choice of words but made the reflective part of himself ripple and change to show the same young man as it had the night before, with Haru looking at him with her heart in her eyes as they passed by each other in the tiny village square.

It was only then that Lord Maliss noticed that Machida was avoiding looking at her at all cost.

"_Eight long years did Haru wait_

"_For love to enter his heart_

"_But another he chose to mate_

"_Never an apology to impart."_

It was here that the scene changed to Haru slamming an egg into that same boy's face, her own full of pain and rage before she snarled a seemingly silent remark and got another egg ready.

Maliss couldn't fight back a grin now that her target was someone else. The poor fool never had a chance, but at least he was smart enough to leave after Haru leaned down for a rock when she had two eggs left in her apron.

"_Haru chose to let them be_

"_Allow others to throw the rice_

"_Rather than prove herself unworthy._

"_But for his mother, this would not suffice."_

The scene changed to Machida getting his head stuck in a bowl of soapy water as an older woman washed his hair clean from the egg while fuming angrily.

"_Many invited wouldn't go_

"_Unless the bride was Haru._

"_All uncaring, did Kamiko_

"_Decide that only force would do."_

Then it switched to Lord Maliss' first glimpse of his latest wife. Closing the door to that _quaint _little cottage just outside the little village before she began her slightly nervous walk towards the woods.

If it hadn't been for the sight spell to confirm she was both a female and unclaimed, he would have taken her before she entered the woods. As things stood, he had to keep his invisibility charm active and circle the area while praying she would come out in the open soon.

"_Haru chose to flee by night_

"_Only a day would she have been missing _

"_To keep the wedding from her sight_

"_If __**you**__ had just kept on moving."_

Maliss twirled one side of his mustache in thought. "You know? I think forcing a rival to watch me marry their love is the one thing I _haven't_ done. Mostly because I don't perform the ceremony where I find my next bride. There's always too much room for error when I don't wait until bringing one home." He leaned back tiredly into the high back chair with a long, thinking exhale of breath.

"This explains why she didn't give me the 'my true love will rescue me' speech, and why her bag only had some mediocre food and sewing things. Though I would have changed my approach a bit if I had known ahead of time that her heart was taken."

The mirror let the glass fall dark before smirking at him.

"_Haru is clever, have no doubt._

"_If you punish her for this-"_

"She'll figure the game out," Maliss finished with one hand on the side of his aching head. "If she figures it out, _they _will never let me forget about it."

"_You can take that for granted," _the mirror told him cheerfully, as if also telling the wizard that the looking glass _would _work the victory over him into as many future verses as it could manage.

That doubled his resolve. The mirror and _them _were unmanageable enough without some peasant girl spoon-feeding them hope.

Hope had to be the only thing more dangerous than himself. He had to crush that hope before anything could come of it.

Then he smiled at remembering his pretty little wife in black lace that left little to the imagination. He had to say _one _thing about choosing her over another blue blood; there was definitely a charm to a woman that seemed oblivious to her own beauty. It was actually enthralling to watch her cringe under his gaze and try not to look like she was cutting off his vision instead of issuing demands or throwing things at him if he wouldn't keep his eyes to himself.

He was in equal parts amused by how her very flesh recoiled from his touch. It always made such an interesting contrast between when a wife knew it was him touching her or not. He had already known that she was one of the stronger wives he'd ever had thanks to wrestling small samples of affection out of her at dinner, but he hadn't anticipated how weak Machida's body would leave him for his latest attempt to claim his wife. Why did Haru waste eight years pining for that weakling, again?

Maliss shook his head with a smirk. It didn't matter. All he had to do was find the right disguise to approach her, and everything would be right back on track.

Every woman had a type that would make her lose her senses. The last thirteen years were proof enough of that.

"All right," he concluded while looking up at the mirror that had lost some of its cocky attitude at his renewed confidence. "What type of man does Haru go for?"

If the looking glass had been forged with shoulders, Maliss was certain that it would have shrugged.

"_Machida was the only sight_

"_That made her heart take flight."_

Maliss closed his eyes in irritation. "What sort of man did she think he was? Eight years without encouragement must have come from _something_."

"_What is said and done_

"_Will always be open to me_

"_But as you've long since known_

"_Thoughts and future remain a mystery."_

Despite his aching head, Maliss let out a frustrated scream. "You think I don't know that?! All that wench ever _does _is think! Princesses generally wait for some true love or sing songs about wanting their freedom, almost any girl of rank cry themselves to sleep until I catch them, and all of them tell the monsters serving them what's on their mind, no matter how loud they get or what they throw for emphasis!"

He accented his anger with slamming the bottom of his staff against the stone floor, almost like dropping the final straw.

"But not this peasant girl! She doesn't sing, she doesn't talk about anything she isn't prodded to, and she barely even cries! All she wants to do is embroider those worthless bags and think about whatever it is that can make her forget that **I'm **in the room! Barely cordial to me, I can understand, but she could be thinking _anything_! How am I supposed to know what she looks for or why she's abnormally calm for being my wife if she never voluntarily opens her mouth?!" That made his dark eyes light up with a thought. "She had at least one friend in that village, didn't she? She only wanted to be gone for a day, which means someone was going to miss her."

Ugh, the mirror was grinning at him maliciously again!

"_Indeed she does, but had long since known_

"_That telling Hiromi anything personal_

"_Might as well be shouted in square of town._

"_Which is why she keeps secrets all."_

Maliss shakily got to his feet, used his staff to draw closer to the mirror, and picked up the mace he always left in this room for just such an occasion. Though his grip was unsteady, waving it side to side in front of the mirror's face had the desired effect.

"Give me something to work with," the evil wizard almost whispered in his fury.

That pudgy face gulped nervously before the glass beneath it rippled awake. It took a while for the Magic Mirror to find anything useful, but the threat of violence still worked like a charm.

_It was a warm summer day, and two young girls were cloud gazing next to full baskets of strawberries._

_The unknown girl turned her head to scowl at a dreamy-eyed Haru, looking maybe a little older than ten. "All right, Miss Smarty Skirt. What do __**you **__think is the perfect romance?"_

"_Your grandparents," Haru answered without a thought, smiling in pure bliss as her large brown eyes traveled a million miles away._

_The other girl laughed almost in pity. "Seriously, Haru? __**That's **__the best you can come up with?"_

_Haru turned her face enough to smile at her friend, as if she had expected nothing less. "Think about it, Hiromi. Remember when Nashito came back from the capital last month and bragged about getting to see the queen and princess in a big parade?"_

Maliss couldn't resist a bit of pride and reassurance at the thought of **that** princess. _That _one had definitely been a worthy challenge. If he could handle Mononoke, then Haru was no big deal.

_Hiromi rolled her olive-green eyes. "And Grandpa had to go and say, 'Big deal. I get to see a queen every day' while pointing at Grandma."_

_Haru looked up at the sky, her large brown eyes content at what was obviously a worn-out flirtation to her friend. "She __**giggled**__, Hiromi. It was like she forgot that they weren't newlyweds. Mother says she can't wait until she and Father get to be that old and still madly in love with each other."_

_Removing her slim hands from behind her head, she placed them over her heart with a hopeful smile. "Someday, when I'm old and wrinkled, I want someone amazing to still be able to point at me and proudly say, '__**there **__is my queen."_

Maliss smirked thinly through his remaining headache. "I can arrange at least half of that for you, **dear**."


	5. Princess

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Five: Princess**

_I'm not asking to be treated like a princess. _

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

_**Night Six**_

Haru knew better than to complain about her blessings. She knew full well that when life granted you a little happiness, you take it while you have the chance.

But this was making her nervous.

After two blissful nights of not having to have anything to do with Lord Maliss, she was seated across from him at the absurdly long dinner table again. Although the marks he had left on her neck and shoulder had scabbed over again and were in plain view, Haru had opted to have black gloves made so that the wizard wouldn't see or ask questions about the bandages still on her right hand.

This dinner was the quietest one yet, mostly due to the fact that Lord Maliss wasn't saying anything to her. His dark eyes were narrowed and thoughtful as he chewed and drank. He would occasionally look at her with calculation but didn't say anything to initiate one of their grudging conversations.

He'd even had one of the monsters help her get into her seat instead of doing it himself. For someone that took every excuse to sneak a touch, that was extremely suspicious behavior.

'_If he's waiting for me to start a conversation this time, he's going to die from old age first.' _More to keep him from putting another surprise in her dinner than anything else, she kept one eye on him as she ate in near perfect silence. _'It's too bad he won't always be this distant. He's easier to put up with when his mind's on something that isn't me.'_

She was still startled when Lord Maliss put down his wine goblet a bit more firmly than his usual way, as if it were the equivalent of clearing his throat for her attention.

"I'm terribly sorry for not indulging in our usual game, **dear**, but I have certain business that is commanding my attention for the moment."

Haru looked up at him with a certain boldness. "You know full well I'm not offended by that."

The scabs and bruises on her neck and shoulder throbbed as if in agreement.

He managed a small smile at her honesty before excusing himself from the table. "Duty calls." He walked around the table from her side so that he could take a kiss from her cringing cheek before leaving. His staff continued to make that clockwork tick every time it touched the stone floor, reminding her that she was already at the half-way point of her life expectancy.

Just before he reached the heavy doors, Haru finally thought of something to say. "Is there a rule against me exploring the castle?" she called after him.

He wheeled around in complete surprise. "You actually _want _to?" he asked like that was one thing he had never heard from anyone before, let alone a bride.

She gripped her goblet from nerves. "Mostly for the exercise. Spending most of the time cooped up in my room is starting to give me cabin fever. Are there any places you'd rather I didn't go near?"

At this point, it wasn't even about finding a rule to break. It was about breaking up her boring routine.

Lord Maliss played with one side of his long pointy mustache in thought. "Any rooms I don't want disturbed are locked in more ways than one," he decided, turning back to the door with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Enjoy yourself. Any one of the servants can return you to your room when you're done."

"Thank you," Haru responded, more than a little surprised that an occasion had arrived for her to use that phrase with him.

He must have been surprised too, because he stopped cold for a long moment at the door before continuing through like he had heard nothing.

Deciding that she was also done with dinner, she set down her fork and made to get out of her chair.

"Allow me, my lady," the green ox monster told her while scooting her chair away from the table a little harder than needed.

But Haru didn't take offense. She could see that he was on the edge of his nerves as well.

"Thank you, Brick," she told him as well before walking out of the dining hall.

Felix also looked flabbergasted as he had to hurry to keep up with her long strides. "He didn't even insist on someone to guide you."

"I know," Haru agreed, since she didn't think she was going to get away without that detail. "But I won't mind if you want to come along. I'm just going to wash my face and put on a cowl before starting."

He rubbed one side of his long jaw with a worried expression. "I might have other duties. If I'm not outside your room by the time you're done, you'll know I can't. Can you find your way to your room from here?" he asked while taking a torch from one of the rings on the wall and using his own flame to light it.

"I'm pretty sure I can manage if you'd like to check that," she told him with a small smile, accepting the new torch without any trouble.

Felix gave her a sharp-toothed smile that almost managed to be adorable before scuttling off down a different hall.

Haru climbed the stairs, feeling a little silly for it since she was planning on starting on the ground floor and working her way up. _'Of course, I'm just glad Maliss didn't cancel his plans to give me a tour himself. The last stop probably would have been his bedroom.' _She shuddered at the idea before getting to her big heavy door.

Blondie bobbed her head in approval as their mistress came in. "No new marks today!"

"Kind of sad that's a special occasion," Haru replied dryly as she handed off the torch and headed for the wash basin. "Don't bother closing the door, Agnes; I'll be leaving as soon as I get cleaned up and put on a cowl."

Agnes stopped just short of closing the big door. "Why?"

Haru started washing off her makeup with relief. "I got permission to explore the castle. I only came back for a cowl since there's no good reason for me to flash his marks at everybody."

While she was burying her face in a fluffy towel, the three ladies in waiting gave each other wary looks.

"The permission was from Lord Maliss himself?" Red asked like she believed it was a trick.

"Who else would have that kind of authority here?" Haru asked before marching over to the trunk. "I was really surprised that he didn't even insist on me taking anyone along. So you girls can enjoy the night as you want, I'll probably be gone for hours." _'Long enough in case a 'rescuer' tries to get through my balcony door again.'_

She had been expecting one for the last two nights but wasn't all that disappointed that no one else showed up. It could have been the end of those late-night visitors, but it also could have only been a break between the travelers. Either way, Haru definitely wouldn't complain if those curtains stayed shut until after a 'rescuer' found out that he was trying to win over one of her ladies in waiting instead of herself. She pulled out one cowl with a button closer that would reach up her neck. She smiled and immediately wrapped it around her shoulders, missing the comprehension on her servants' faces.

"Here, my lady," Agnes insisted, drawing close enough to work the amulet over the cowl before taking over the buttons.

Haru scowled down at the heavy piece of rock while flicking her shoulder-length hair out of the way. "Is it really that important that it's always out in the open?"

Red answered as she and her sister finished smoothing out Haru's brown locks. "Lord Maliss prefers it that way. More than one bride has complained that he only ripped away whatever they were covering their marks with because he couldn't see the amulet."

Haru briefly considered wearing a thick scarf under the amulet the next night, but ruefully concluded that he'd probably rip it off anyway, even if he couldn't think up a good reason to. "Better?" she sighed while looking down.

It was obvious that the new covering wasn't meant as part of the dress, but at least she got to keep part of her dignity.

Agnes nodded while looking at Red and Blondie. "We'll find something to do. One of us will probably hear you no matter where you are in the castle."

Haru gave her a rueful smile, thinking about how long she screamed on the way to the castle. "That probably goes without saying. I'll see you later." She eagerly stepped to the door and gripped the fancy handle.

"Wait!" Blondie cried out, nearly making the girl jump out of her skin with surprise.

Haru wheeled around to see that Red had a hand encircling her sister's beak.

"You have a spider on you," she hurriedly explained with a shrill smile. "Agnes?"

"I got it," the other monster said while hurriedly moving forward and brushing her webbed hands over the back of the blue dress as Haru stayed completely still. "There we are, my lady," Agnes crooned while stomping her foot hard on the stone floor peaking between the thick carpets. "You're free to go."

Haru smiled with relief while giving a sly smile to Blondie, who still looked shaken. _'Imagine that. A monster afraid of spiders.' _"Try saving that tone for when someone's in real danger, Blondie," she teased warmly before letting herself out and closing the door behind her.

Agnes immediately set her head against the solid wood to listen for those gentle footsteps to retreat. Once she was certain that their current mistress was out of earshot, she stood up to her full height and crossed her arms at the other monster.

Red glared at her other head. "Are you _trying _to get us killed?!" she hissed, switching the grip from her sister's beak to her sister's neck. "What if Lord Maliss saw that?! Remember what happened to Ratina?"

Big tears escaped Blondie's eyes as she used her own hand to fight off Red's. "I _like _this one! Why can't we keep her a little longer before having to get used to a new mistress again?"

Agnes tiredly slumped to the floor next to the door, looking less than thrilled herself. "It's not like this is a surprise. We all know the fate of Lady Maliss, no matter who she is."

ooOoo

Haru could immediately tell that she had been right about the castle being too big. Most of the rooms she inspected on the ground floor were nearly carpeted in dust and similar signs of disuse. She held up the lantern a little higher but could still see little else but tattered rags and broken furniture.

She sighed and left that room as well. Fourth one in a row that had nothing of interest. _'No wonder Lord Maliss didn't care if I poked around.'_

Still, for all the effort it must have taken to make the castle and surrounding realm his own, one would think he would at least make the monsters keep the place in shape out of pride if nothing else.

Then again, pride was the only reason he laid claim on it. Where did he live before beginning his reign of terror?

Haru tried opening a large door that looked important, but the hinges that held it steady were too old and worn to hold the weight. With a metallic tearing sound, the door that was easily three times as tall as her fell inward with a loud crash, sending up a blizzard of dust.

Haru forced herself to retreat backward almost to the end of the hall to keep herself from inhaling the awful stuff and so that her lantern's light wouldn't be snuffed out. _'Tomorrow, I am definitely bringing handkerchiefs.'_ Keeping one flowing sleeve over her mouth, she couldn't help wishing that she knew where some cleaning supplies were in this castle. Even if it wouldn't mean anything in a month, cleaning would at least help her pass the time, and it was something she already knew how to do.

Once the dust finally settled, she poked her head into a huge room that she thought might have been for dancing until she saw the large thrones on the far side.

'_Then again, it's not that likely that he'll ever have enough wanted guests to make cleaning the castle worth the trouble. I wonder how many of those sieges even got as far as the castle.' _Since there wasn't any reason not to, Haru stepped carefully across the door she had accidentally damaged until she was standing on much-disturbed dust again.

This room seemed to be the embodiment of the ruined parts of the castle. A metal chandelier had long since fallen, making Haru step carefully around the shattered glass while holding the lantern up to look at everything she could. She still kept one flowing sleeve to her mouth to keep the dust from entering her lungs, but that didn't distract her from the fact that the remaining tapestries on the walls and the cushioning of the thrones were in dark jewel tones. Haru hated to admit it to herself, but she could easily see Maliss sitting on the largest throne; legs apart to show off his thigh-high boots, holding his dragon staff perfectly erect as a warning to all, but resting his head on the other hand in complete boredom as he waited for an excuse to use his magic.

Haru couldn't picture anyone in the slightly smaller throne next to him. Especially not herself; she'd probably look like the scullery maid 'giving herself airs' when she thought no one was looking.

She looked around the huge room again, picturing it filled to the brim with nobles and aristocrats. There was a slightly raised spot behind a half-fallen curtain rod that reminded her of Momo's favorite spot to play music whenever the village had a dance or a festival that required his talents.

Suddenly by the light of her lantern, Haru noticed colors that weren't dulled by dust or decay. She looked up at that portrait while drawing closer, not needing an introduction for the woman within.

She had to be the most beautiful woman Haru had ever laid eyes on, but since she had never left her village until now and there were very few visitors, and less that were women, even Haru had to admit that it wasn't saying much.

Her long hair was darker than night, but her eyes seemed darker still, and colder than all of winter. Her hair was expertly styled upward, and a silver crown was set in her raven locks. Her gown was probably the fanciest to be had as her arms seemed to poise themselves perfectly to give everyone the best look at her. Just to be sure that everyone knew how rich this woman was, most of that dress had been dyed in _purple_ with blue accents.

In all honesty, the peasant girl didn't think even royalty had more than one piece of purple clothing a person. The dyeing process was just too expensive.

Haru drew a little closer while lifting the lantern a little higher just to be sure that it wasn't her eyes playing tricks on her.

It wasn't. That proud queen had the same pale skin as Lord Maliss. The green undertone was a bit lighter than her brother's but was impossible to miss, as well as the familiar cheekbones. If that weren't enough to announce her identity, the fact that the portrait was the only thing in the ridiculously huge room that seemed new and completely dust-free would have done the trick.

'_That skin tone really should have tipped off Princess Snow White's father,'_ Haru couldn't resist thinking while shaking her head sadly.

As far away as she lived from this horrible ghost kingdom, even she knew about the tragedy that started Lord Maliss onto his path of punishing every royal house he could, in the most painful way anyone could have imagined. All for being related in some way to the princess he felt responsible for his sister's death. That princess was not only dead by his hand, but his very first victim.

When he accomplished punishing the royalty, he moved on to the nobility. After enough time had passed, he staggered himself between the royalty and nobility, taking every girl with any royal blood in her veins for his own almost as soon as they came of age.

Until Haru. There was absolutely no connection to her and that princess other than being female, but he claimed her anyway. She sighed tiredly and pulled a fallen curtain off a bench so that she could have somewhere clean to sit. She sat the lantern next to her feet in order to absorb the full horror of her situation.

'_It's not even about vengeance to him anymore. It's about a record that's only going to build on itself until he dies. If he has enough humanity left in him to die. When was the last time he even really thought about the sister he lost?'_

If someone had ever become responsible for Hiromi's death, Haru would have absolutely been interested in doing something about it. She couldn't imagine anyone having anything that serious against her oldest and dearest friend, but anything was possible.

Haru gripped herself by the arms from a sudden chill as she looked up at Queen Malissa's portrait again.

If anything could inspire Hiromi to kill, it would be what happened to Haru. Knowing that a hero was on their way to rescue you wasn't very much assurance when it was nearly guaranteed that you would be dead before the help even arrived.

Hiromi wouldn't come, Haru was sure of it. Her best friend could talk big when she felt the need, but as she well remembered, Haru was actually the better fighter of the two even if it had been almost a decade since she's needed to prove it.

A naughty smirk crossed her lips as she held her injured hand in a fist. She still wasn't sure how the pain of slamming her fist into solid stone didn't wake her up that night, but she was still grateful for what that dream had shown her.

There had never been a future with Machida. She would have done herself a big favor if she had simply talked her father into moving somewhere that wasn't so full of memories after her mother died, or maybe struck out on her own about the same time that Sakura moved in. That way she could have still at least had the option of visiting Hiromi and have a chance at a future of her own.

A future. Haru closed her eyes in agony and breathed a deep sigh of regret.

"_Beautiful_," a strange voice reverently echoed into the room.

Haru stood up from her seat like it had been setting her dress on fire while gasping in fright, and she grabbed the lantern for a makeshift weapon before holding it ready to see the intruder.

The stranger held up his hands both to prove that he was unarmed and that he meant no harm. "Shh, it's fine. I'm a-"

"Rescuer?" Haru asked while trying not to roll her eyes in disgust.

He was a little too far away for her to see his expression, but he did seem taken aback by her attitude. "You _could _show a little more enthusiasm about this," he grumbled while moving more into the cavernous room.

Not feeling safe about the lack of a glass door between them, Haru swiftly looked around for something to use as a weapon in case he didn't understand a simple 'no'. About all she could find at a first glance was a fireplace poker. Never minding the rust stains it would leave on her black glove, she grabbed it and held it ready.

He was much closer now and giving the poker a somewhat more nervous glance than she thought it deserved, considering the crossbow hanging at his side. "Is that really necessary?" he pleaded with her, though staying a good ten paces away.

"I'd rather not find out the hard way," she informed the man while looking at him curiously.

He looked a bit more respectable than her first visitors, and his simple brown tights and red tunic seemed to say that this wasn't some common workman. That seemed reinforced by how neatly his orange hair was trimmed to just below his earlobes.

Haru took in a long breath, wishing she didn't have to deal with this. "My name's Haru Yoshioka, and before you get any ideas, I'm a peasant girl Lord Maliss took because he doesn't want to admit he's running out of blue blood stock. Who are you?"

He seemed shocked at how frank she was being. But he recovered before giving her the most polished bow she had ever seen. "I am Prince Florian of Swynol, and I'm here to rescue you from Lord Maliss."

'_Well, maybe he's better prepared than the others.' _"All right, what's your plan?" she asked in a very business-like tone.

That smile flickered as if he hadn't expected the question. "Plan?"

Haru groaned, wishing that her hands weren't full so that she could rub at her headache. "_Yes_, plan. You don't just walk into the Realm of Doom to challenge the most powerful wizard in at least a century **unless you have a plan**. Also back up plans for 'when' not 'if' something goes wrong with your plan. Believe me, this isn't someone you want to face without some tricks up both of your sleeves."

She wanted to be nicer about it, she really did. But if pointing out the obvious was all it took to keep this fool from getting needlessly killed, so be it.

"I-I didn't say that I was here to challenge Lord Maliss," Prince Florian hastily corrected her with a nervous smile that looked strangely pleased. "I said I was here to rescue you."

Haru looked up at the portrait, feeling even more angry at her _husband _than she had when he stole her second kiss as well as her first. Taking in a deep breath, she placed the lantern on the bench so that she could hold up the amulet at her throat for emphasis. "Do you see this?" she demanded. "It means I'm stuck here. I can't leave, I can't kill myself, I can't even be near a window when the sun's out thanks to that creep. Even if you found a way to get this thing off me, what would you do then? Take me to your kingdom as fast as your horse can carry us?"

She gave a loud scoff to make sure he didn't actually answer that. "That won't work, you know. Lord Maliss only sees me as his new favorite toy, but I _promise _you that he'll be offended enough to burn your whole kingdom to the ground with everyone still in it, kill me after making sure I know how angry he is, and just replace me with another girl. The only thing that your actions would change is that monster's body count. If you're serious about rescuing me, you're going to have to rescue all the girls that will follow me when I no longer amuse him."

He had literally been struck dumb by her speech.

Haru sighed and reminded herself that he probably meant well. "I know the old stories, too, but I think you'll find me a disappointment as a reward. The only dowry I've collected would barely qualify as pocket change for one of your servants if you bothered to go all the way back to Jilash for it. I have no rank, and the only skill I have that's remotely noble is embroidery. Not even Lord Maliss has any interest in a real relationship with me; I'm a possession for the moment and nothing more. But if you see any rescuers heading this way on your trip home, go ahead and let them know that directly approaching me isn't going to do a thing. Get rid of Lord Maliss. _That's _what's going to mean something."

Prince Florian was gaping at her like an idiot.

"Just get out of here," Haru sighed while holding her head with one hand and the poker in the other. "Before I have to prove I'm not above calling for help with an intruder."

"B-But… surely you don't want to spend the rest of your _life _here!" the prince tried to reason while holding out his arms in a pleading gesture and taking one step closer.

But Haru was unmoved and holding the poker ready in case the strange man got too close. "The only thing that will please me more than quitting this place for good, is knowing that no other girls will be forced to come. You have until the count of ten."

ooOoo

"You're _back_!" Blondie squealed with delight maybe two hours later.

Haru gave her a curious glance while setting the lantern and poker aside and trying to brush off the remaining dust with one gloved hand. "You say that like I was going to encounter something dangerous. Does Lord Maliss have another pet roaming the halls?"

"No, my lady," Agnes assured her while helping their mistress to her favorite chair. "But we were expecting to hear you call for help at some point."

Haru laughed while leaning back into the comfortable upholstery. "Like you would have heard me from here."

"We usually can," Red muttered under her breath while offering their lady a dainty cup of water.

Haru sipped it thankfully. "But no, I found nothing I couldn't handle. I mostly came back this early to get away from how the wind was howling."

Her ladies in waiting gave each other worried expressions.

"Was the sound terrifying?" Agnes asked while fetching a blanket to cover their lady's legs, since she was shivering slightly.

Haru couldn't fight back a small laugh. "More like it was annoying. If that sound had come from a living thing, I'd have to scold someone to get off whatever tail they're stepping on."

Blondie couldn't resist a guilty giggle as she fluffed a pillow with her disapproving sister.

_**Night Seven**_

There were two more heroes the next night when she went exploring. Lord Maliss had sent word that whatever business had been distracting him now required a bit of traveling, but Haru should have known that annoyance had to come from another source as long as she lives in his castle.

The first one had managed to find a vine so that he could swing in from a hallway window that had long been shattered, startling Haru enough to raise her poker at the ready. The stranger was covered from head to toe in thick furs, so all she could see was an earnest face peeking out from under his thick winter hat as he bowed to her. As he did so, the long spear strapped to his back came down to cross against her poker in a very odd salute.

Haru backed away just in case as the tall man stood to his full height to smile at her around his closely cropped black beard.

"Your highness, I am Prince Ivan of Volk, and-"

"Did you really just swing in here?" Haru asked while hardly believing the level of dramatics he had pulled out. "We're on the ground floor, you could have just climbed through the window."

Wow. How many men had she struck dumb since she got here? This had to be the fourth or fifth one. The third one at the very least.

Haru sidestepped to the window for a glance but couldn't even find a bush as the reason he had to literally swing by. The window hadn't even been that high up. She gave the prince a flat look that spoke volumes. "That would have been a lot more impressive if you had better timing."

That made him shut his mouth and shake his head as if reminding himself that he needed to make a good impression on her. "So, do you want to go to the ballroom so I can try again? What about the throne room?"

"Most of the important rooms with windows are trashed," Haru reported while doing her best not to scream at his priorities. "Besides, don't you have anything better to do than try to impress another man's wife? Oh, I don't know, like maybe killing the husband?"

He gave a shudder while taking a step back from her. "That's the most cold-blooded thing I've ever heard a woman say."

"Must be the company I've been keeping," Haru responded dryly before continuing down the hallway. "But I mean it. Either kill Maliss or get out. Nothing's going to get better until he's gone."

By the time Prince Ivan shuddered again, she had already rounded a corner.

ooOoo

The second one found her in one room that had more signs of use, and far less dust than the other places she had visited in the castle.

Haru hefted one mace experimentally. _'You could crack a man's head like an **egg** with this thing!' _The very thought made her want to try it, but she knew better. She was on pretty good terms with the regular variety of monsters, and the only one she had any interest of practicing on was the only one that could literally stop her in her tracks.

Despite promises from the guards that they would let her explore in peace since she couldn't harm herself on anything, the door creaked open loudly enough to make the peasant girl switch around her grip on the mace before looking at the latest intruder on her life.

This one was also tall, not as much muscle on him as Ivan but nowhere near as lean as Tack had been. He was dressed like a soldier and had a red cape with the clasp over his right shoulder for a roguish look, but he had to take off the helmet and attached veil for her to get a good look at him.

His long face was plain but pleasant.

"You know, this is the last place I would have expected to find a princess," he said conversationally, though he was at least smart enough to stay on his side of the door. Considering the sword at his belt, he was looking at the mace in her hands with some nervousness and just a trace of shock that she was able to lift it.

Haru rolled her eyes but decided to get it over with. "Then I've got good news for you; I'm a bagmaker's daughter, not a princess. If you're looking for extra weapons to challenge Lord Maliss with, you've got some extra time to think over what you need. I just don't recommend staying in here too long. This is one of the rooms that's actually put in use. Hiding out in one of the studies next to the throne room would be a much better idea."

That made him light up like the sun. "Then you have no objections to me staying around?"

Haru gripped her lantern with one hand and forced herself to put back the mace so that she could grip her poker again. If this one was sneakier than the others, she'd need speed more than the brink of her strength.

She used her poker to encourage him to keep a certain distance away so that she could slip through the door. "As long as you keep a healthy distance from me and don't hurt the servants, you can do whatever you want. Especially if your presence is going to end with Lord Maliss as a corpse." She began backing down the hallway so she could keep an eye on him, still holding up the poker as a warning.

"But if you're just here to rescue me without challenging him, then go home. I don't care about your rank, your name, or anything else. I'm off limits until that creep is dead. Understand?"

"A-Aren't you being a little harsh?" he tried to reason through his shaken nerves.

But Haru could only smile thinly at the word. "If I'm 'harsh', go ahead and spread that around. Make it clear that the only reason for coming here should be getting rid of the real monster since I'm not worth the hassle." Then she stopped backing up to look at him suspiciously. "How _are _all of you slipping past the defenses? Lord Maliss made absolutely sure I knew that every entrance is guarded when he first brought me here, plus he implied that the horned wolves enjoy human flesh."

That just made the young man even more nervous. "All right, all right, I can take a hint," he muttered, turning to go the other way without answering her question. But he turned around to look at her with a melting expression just before putting on his helmet. "But bagmaker's daughter or not, I would have courted you with more grace if I knew how."

Haru held up the red amulet resting on top of her cowl with one pinky to illustrate her point. "I'm a little tied up at the moment, and I'm too upset to even think about that sort of thing."

"But if you weren't tied up, you'd think about it?" he tried to clarify, lowering his helmet instead of putting it on to make sure he could hear her response.

Haru closed her eyes and mouthed counting to ten before turning her back and just walking away to another area she hadn't explored yet. "I just said I'm too upset. Try listening to the whole thing instead of just the part you want to hear."

She never saw how that plain simple face became twisted into demonic fury, and the blue eyes turn redder than the cloak around his shoulders.

'_There is no __**pleasing **__this one!' _Then he forced himself to calm down, turning the other way and keeping the helmet under one arm. _'Very well, __**dear**__. If it's a corpse you want, a corpse you'll have.'_


	6. Girly Girl

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Six: Girly Girl**

_I never was much of a girly girl._

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

_**Night Eight**_

The night after dismissing two rescuers in a row, Haru was putting the finishing touches on her last bag when her door slammed open. She gasped in surprise since her ladies in waiting were never that reckless about coming in, but it wasn't them this time. The tall lanky figure that stumbled into the room had moved like he had done it with the last of his strength.

This one was clearly a knight, clothed in chain mail from head to toe with a red and gold tunic over it all. His hand almost desperately clinging to the long sword he was dragging along beside him.

"Y-Your highness!" he gasped before collapsing onto the closest rug, bleeding from several places and smoking from others. His helmet fell from his head as he lay panting from pain.

Haru threw her work to the side to inspect the wounds. They were bleeding all over her carpet, but if she got pressure on them, he wouldn't bleed out. Since it was the first thing she could think of, she ran to her bed and threw off the heavy covers so that she could get at her bedsheet.

"I-I did it," he stuttered, but she shushed him before using her teeth to make a small tear to rip the bedsheet into strips.

"Try not to talk. Let me get some of this cleaned up first."

It wasn't easy getting his mail shirt off after the tunic, or the plain tunic underneath it. But since she had paid attention to how her ladies in waiting had handled her after the 'vampire' comment, she was able to manage it with only a minimal amount of grunting from the knight.

"This doesn't look good," Haru fussed over the wounds before reaching up for a needle and thread. "You need stitches."

"What?! No, I don't!" he panicked before trying to get to his knees, but Haru pressed on an unmarked part of his back enough to ensure he would do no such thing.

"Don't worry, I've sewn these kinds of cuts before," she assured him while threading a needle. "It's just too bad I don't have anything to deaden the pain with."

"I'll be fine!" he assured her, reaching up with one hand to stop her from doing more than threading a needle. "Just wrap me up, I'll be fine!"

"They all say that," Haru sighed as she attempted to pry his hand off hers. "The cuts will just rip open more if I don't do this, you know. Stop being such a baby."

"Baby?! _Baby_?!" he demanded in rage, adrenaline allowing him to stand to his full height with his hands on his hips to glare at her. "I just killed Lord Maliss for you, woman! Don't call me a baby!"

Haru's eyes raised as far as they would go, and not because the man had been stripped to the waist. "… He's gone?" she nearly whispered in disbelief.

He nodded with some satisfaction at getting her attention. "Good and dead. After _you only wrap me up_, I'll take you down the main hall. His body's there and everything."

Haru's index finger traced the lower part of the pulsing amulet still around her neck as she stuck the needle and thread into one of the cushions of her favorite chair. Was it even _possible? _"Hold that thought," she told the knight while rising to her feet and marching to the balcony.

"Wait, what are you doing?" he asked, but Haru didn't dare stop to explain anything as she opened the glass doors to the still night air and ran out to the balcony.

Then she threw herself off the edge.

Even as the knight screamed high in surprise, the amulet at her throat throbbed hotly before her body seemed to stop in midair and get thrown back onto the balcony.

"Ouch!" Haru yelped since she landed on her back and banged her head against the cold stone.

The first thing she saw was the knight glaring at her angrily. He was upside down from her point of view. "What did you do _that _for?!" he demanded before helping her to her feet.

"I knew it," she answered in complete misery before batting his hands off her. "It was too good to be true."

"That you didn't _die_?" he demanded, but she was shaking her head while trying not to cry as she held a hand to the aching part of her skull.

That brief taste of hope had been heavenly.

"Maliss isn't dead. I don't know what you fought, but it wasn't him." She held the amulet up enough so that she could glare at it after heaving herself to her feet with the stone railing. "Even if this thing didn't explode or fall off my neck, the spells on it would have worn off if he died. I'm still stuck here."

He froze, like the thought hadn't occurred to him. "Maybe the spells need time to wear off," he reasoned, but Haru shook her head.

"I never got told he was back. Even if he was too tired to have dinner with me, my ladies in waiting would have told me he returned. That was probably just a… special guard you killed. That seems like the sort of protection he'd leave on this place when he goes traveling, especially if there's a 'toy' he doesn't want to share." Her shoulders drooped even lower in depression, almost missing the thoughtful expression on the knight's face.

"It also means you need to leave as soon as possible. The first thing the monsters will do when they see the mess you left is make sure I'm safe and put me under heavy guard until you're caught."

"Oh, I don't think so," he growled, gripping her by the upper arm to keep her from moving out of range. "Special guard or not, I really did fight a dragon for you. I think these marks are proof enough that I'm owed _some _reward."

It was about then that she started getting suspicious that the wounds weren't oozing that much anymore, and he was able to stand tall without needing to lean on anything. His eyes weren't glazed over from blood loss, and his voice was firm and healthy.

On top of that, he was nowhere near as panicked as he should have been that an evil wizard might walk in on them.

"Well," Haru sighed as if in compliance. "I guess I owe you a _little _something for the wounds you got for my sake before you leave. Close your eyes."

He beamed happily before doing so. Haru reached up with one hand to drag his neck down to her level… before harshly sending him toppling over the edge of the balcony, sword still in hand even though the twist made him lose his own grip on her.

It may have made Haru a bad person, but she felt a lot better listening to his high scream before painfully landing on a large thorn bush that apparently grew underneath her balcony. Then the shrieks of pain only became more musical.

"I owe you **nothing**, you creep!" she screamed down at him, going back into her room so that she could send the chain mail shirt, tunics, and helmet after their owner. Goodness knows what she'd tell her ladies in waiting to explain why she had ripped her bedsheet into strips, or all that blood on the rug.

'_I don't think I'd want to put up with that chain mail smell the rest of my life, anyway.'_

_**Night Ten**_

Two nights later, another prince was trying his luck.

"Your highness, my name is Prince Mytho of Cigno-" a young man with snow-white hair and golden eyes tried to introduce himself while holding his sword in front of him at a salute.

"Okay, that _does _it!" Haru nearly yelled when she started on the second floor of the castle in hopes of not running into anymore 'rescuers'. Using her poker, which never left her side when she left her room for any reason that didn't have to do with her husband, she pointed at a bench resting on the side of the railing. "Sit. You are going to answer some questions for me, and I don't care if you want to or not."

He blinked in worry but sheathed his sword before sitting on one end of that bench. It was probably irrational, but even the way that young man moved was setting her teeth on edge. He patted the space next to him invitingly for her to join him, but Haru only leaned against the wall across from him, still gripping that poker.

"How do you creeps keep finding me in this place?" she demanded, making him stiffen angrily. "It's huge, there's monsters running around serving a bigger monster, and I've been trying _really hard _to make myself hard to find to anybody."

He brushed one hand over his snowy hair out of nerves. "We just keep looking, that's all."

"Oh, and I suppose Ivan swung into every room and hallway until he happened to land in front of me?" Haru asked sarcastically. "What about that song? I intentionally had the curtain closed so that it would look like no one was in my room so I could get some peace and quiet, but that didn't stop **that** one."

"Why are you being so _picky_?!" Prince Mytho exploded like she was the fifth 'princess' that had refused a rescue attempt.

'_If he moves like that in front of all the girls he tries to rescue, I can understand them turning him away as well.' _Haru rolled her eyes heavenward before growling. "Because I shouldn't be the first stop in an evil wizard's lair. I shouldn't have to explain that before you rescue the damsel in distress, _you have to take down the monster holding her prisoner_. I'm not some golden harp that you can sneak out if Lord Maliss is looking the other way." She held up the amulet resting on her cowl for emphasis. "Frankly, even if one of you did manage to kill him, it's obvious that I won't so much get my freedom as I will get a different big house to live in, and a different husband that expects complete obedience. Rescuing me isn't a guarantee for a happy future, no matter how much I would wish it to be. For all you know, I'm a nag."

"It's certainly starting to look like it," he muttered under his breath.

This castle and its owner were starting to tell on Haru. She was taking that as a compliment. "Good, glad we understand each other. Now get out before Lord Maliss uses you to floss his dragon teeth." Without another word, she turned on her heel and ran down a new hallway before he could stop her.

Just for the fun of it, she kept running. It felt good to do it again, even with the uncomfortable undergarments and pathetic excuse for shoes hindering her movements. After a while, she noticed that all the rooms and hallways were looking the same, but she wasn't too worried. The castle was only so big, which meant that it was only a matter of time before she either found someone to guide her back or she wound up somewhere that she would recognize.

As little as she liked the idea, she knew that the other occupants of the castle were more or less supposed to be aware of where she is at all times in case she was up to something her predecessors hadn't thought of yet.

'_I __**wish **__I was up to something,' _she mourned while slowing down to a walk after enough of her energy was spent. _'That would mean I have a plan of my own instead of praying that one of the heroes that comes here has a lick of common sense.'_

"_If you are done walking,_

"_Would you mind talking?"_

Haru immediately jumped to attention while holding her poker ready. She blinked, and looked around, but she was all alone in the long hallway.

"Who's there?" she growled, just to make sure the latest intruder knew she wasn't interested in explaining herself again.

"_Fear not, dear Haru._

"_I've been held here _

"_Even longer than you."_

This voice was different than any of the others she'd heard. It was a man's, but it didn't have any scratchy, guttural sounds that would have marked him as one of the monsters. If anything, the voice was even more pleasant than some of her rescuers.

It was also coming from the door just on her left, hanging open just a crack.

"I'm going to regret this," she muttered to herself while pushing the door open just enough to peek inside.

The room was empty. There was just a high back chair facing away from the door, a large ornate mirror hanging on the wall, and a mace sitting directly under the mirror.

Just before she noticed there was no dust in this room, the silver face forged over the glass smiled warmly and opened its mouth.

"_Please come and talk to me_

"_I don't get many visitors, see?"_

Haru was so surprised that she dropped her poker. She gaped like the country bumpkin she was for a long minute before hesitantly coming into the room. "So… Queen Malissa really **did** have a magic mirror." _'That was the part I thought for sure was made up.'_

That jolly face seemed tickled to death that she had heard of him and was drawing close enough to appreciate his craftsmanship.

"_Finally! _

"_Some decent company!_

"_It's been so lonely_

"_With only Lord Maliss to visit me."_

Haru didn't bother to fight back a bitter laugh. "I'd prefer being alone forever than that." She laid a sympathetic hand on the silver side of the looking glass. "I'm sorry. You probably have no choice about any of this."

His look of gratitude almost overwhelmed her.

"_You, I could almost kiss."_

Haru flinched at the ugly word. "Thanks all the same, but I'm mentally scarred against kissing now. Physically, too," she added while rubbing her sore shoulder through her cowl. Her flesh had started knitting together underneath the scabs, which was healthy, but the itching drove her crazy. "Is Lord Maliss _usually _that rough with his wives?"

The mirror sighed sadly.

"_If he's harsh with a wife,_

"_It's because she causes him strife."_

Haru hmphed angrily before leaning against the same wall he was hanging from. "Wonder what I did to really earn this, then," she muttered under her breath, completely missing the look of glee on the mirror's face before he was able to control it.

"_Though he has been abrupt_

"_With wives he wished to subduct."_

Haru looked over at him curiously. "I don't know that last word. Peasant girl, remember?"

"_If he fears you,_

"_He'll try to break you," _the mirror clarified in simple terms.

She laughed harshly at the thought. "Why would Lord Maliss fear me? I'm nothing compared to most of the girls he's stolen."

"_Oh, how wrong you are," _the mirror told her, not bothering to hide his glee this time.

"_You've troubled him by far._

"_Princesses he can predict, _

"_But __**you **__do nothing but contradict."_

Haru wracked her brain for something offensive enough to really get her husband angry but came up blank. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she admitted a little helplessly, making the mirror laugh with delight.

"_Don't let it trouble._

"_Your very self is a rebuttal."_

Haru took in a long breath and held it before exhaling slowly as she tried to process his strange words. "So… just be myself?"

"_With fury, he'll stay beside himself," _the mirror assured her with a somewhat evil cackle.

Haru grinned a little wickedly herself. "Your wish is my command," she told him with one of the formal curtsies her mother had forced her to learn what seemed like a lifetime ago. It was a little surprising how well she could still do it.

Mother. Home. _Hiromi. _A wave of homesickness for her old life hit her harder than Machida's rejection. Well, finding out from Hiromi that he had proposed to Sakura, in any case.

Suddenly nervous, Haru started twiddling her thumbs through the black gloves. "Listen, it's perfectly fine if you can't or don't want to, but… would you please show me Hiromi?" she pleaded in a tiny voice.

The mirror smiled warmly at her, making the black glass beneath his face waver until Haru was looking _at her own kitchen._

_Hiromi looked very tired and pale as she sat at Haru's kitchen table. Tsuge muttered dark things at the oatmeal he was trying not to burn as he glanced at his wife with a sheepish smile._

"_I swear it will be edible this time, my love. Some good thick food, and you'll be back to normal."_

"_Okay," Hiromi muttered with a numbness that Haru hadn't seen since the fever sickness had hit their village. One hand was rubbing her swollen belly, but it moved without thought or real care._

Haru tried not to cry as she set both of her hands directly onto the glass. "My poor Hiromi."

_Both Tsuge and Hiromi jumped like a bee had stung them, sending the pot full of breakfast flying over one wall and the floor._

"_Haru?!" Hiromi asked shrilly as she and her husband looked around in vain._

Haru's mouth fell open in shock. "Did you _hear _me?" she asked in complete surprise.

"_We can hear you!" Tsuge told her, now feeling around the room as if he was hoping to grab an invisible elbow. "Where are you?!"_

Haru looked up at the mirror's face, but he was as shocked as she was.

"_You are __**clever!**_

"_Used like this, I've never!"_

"Did either of you hear another voice just now?" Haru asked just to be sure of what was going on.

"_Who cares about other voices, I want __**you**__! Where are you?!" Hiromi demanded as tears of relief flooded down her face and she also tried to blindly feel for her friend._

Haru drew herself up to her full height while trying to think of the best way to put her situation. "I'm in the Realm of Doom with Lord Maliss. I just found that magic mirror we were told about, and I accidentally found a new way to use it. I'm still alive, but who knows for how much longer?" She then started and gave a rueful smile to the mirror's face. "I can't imagine using the mirror without permission will go without punishment, though. Are you two helping Father since I can't anymore?"

_Both Tsuge and Hiromi flinched before giving each other a long look._

"_Are you sitting?" her friend asked as she took back her previous seat._

"Not without letting go of the mirror, it's hanging up. What happened after that creep took me?" Haru begged, although she wasn't sure why the information suddenly mattered so much to her.

_Tsuge also sat at the small table, reaching across it to hold his wife's hand. "It… took a while to convince your father that you were old enough for marriage," he forced out while staring at his lap. "Then when it finally hit him, all he could say was 'the years… the years… they're all gone…'"_

Haru understood in a heartbeat. She closed her eyes and tried to steady herself. "He didn't survive the shock. Losing Mother destroyed him."

"_Losing you to Lord Maliss of all people was too much for him," Hiromi agreed, gripping her husband's hand like it was a lifeline. "I'm sorry, Haru, but we weren't gentle about telling him what happened. I had to rip the bag out of his hands and slam him against a wall before he would listen to me."_

"That sounds about right to get his attention," Haru comforted her friend, though the ache in her chest began to throb again.

Though less than she had been expecting. In many ways, her father had died when her mother did. It was one of the reasons Haru seemed to always live in her own thoughts.

"I'm glad that you two got my home, though. Hiromi, the things I was sewing for my own home are in the bed I slept in. All of it is yours."

"_I already claimed it," her friend admitted, still gripping her husband's hand as her eyes continued to weep. "If the only way our child will know your love is through stories and your stitches, so be it."_

"_Sheriff Rosso's having trouble convincing the authorities that Lord Maliss kidnapped a peasant this time, and he's not that sure that they won't see it as good news that he's expanding his horizons beyond the blue bloods. There's something else, too," Tsuge remembered, clearly not wanting to see his wife cry anymore. "Sakura refused to marry Machida."_

**That **made Haru start in surprise. "She _what_?"

_Hiromi growled darkly in her throat. "Haru, the only reason I delivered Kamiko's message was because she told me that Sakura was unsure about how angry you really were and wanted you there as proof that you wished them the best."_

"If that's not a way to get me angry, nothing is," Haru growled to herself. "So Kamiko arranged my humiliation without Sakura's approval?"

"_She knew nothing about it until Machida made a rude statement about how far you were willing to go to avoid going to his wedding. She got into a huge fight with him and his mother over it, right there in the town square!" Hiromi was able to gush with an evil sneer. "I know I told you that being kind to Sakura was foolish, but I take it back. She and her aunt were so impressed with how you handled Machida choosing another girl, that they decided the last straw was Machida saying… things that will never be repeated under my roof. Sakura and her aunt moved out of town almost immediately. Machida and his mother are in disgrace, and I've been using all my gossip skills to make sure that all the girls from the neighboring villages know to avoid him at all costs."_

A slow feral smile crossed Haru's lips. "This pleases me. Almost as much as that lovely dream I had where I got to treat his head like bread dough." She shivered in pure delight at the memory, enough to keep her from noticing the evil grin on the mirror's silver face.

_Hiromi beamed at the cheer in her friend's tone before she burst out crying in earnest. "Why now, Haru?! Why couldn't you have gotten over him while you were still here?! You could still __**be**__ here if you'd had that dream earlier!"_

Haru rested her forehead against the cool glass. "I guess I'm not as clever as you or the mirror think I am. Eight years really was too long to wait for more than a daily 'hi' if I was lucky."

"_Okay, you have our side of things. What about yours? Has Lord Maliss been hurting you?" Tsuge demanded in a brotherly fury._

Haru bit her lip as her shoulder began to itch again. "Not in the traditional way. I'd rather not talk about that part. He's a manipulative disgusting creep that enjoys how much his wives hate him."

"_Then Princess Mononoke's __**alive**__?" Hiromi asked while brightening happily. _

"No, unfortunately not," Haru was quick to clear up her own words. "Neither Lord Maliss or his servants have bothered to hide the fact that he will kill me when I break a rule. You can have Sheriff Rosso pass that on to an authority if you can; all the brides die before the next one is selected. He only has one marriage amulet, and believe me, the only thing that will take it off is my death or his."

_Hiromi deflated at the somber news. "If heroes can't go after every princess, why would anyone but me go after a bagmaker's daughter?"_

"_If I let you," Tsuge added with a stern look._

She beamed happily at the man. "You tell her, Tsuge. You and the baby need her more than me. But don't even get me _started _on rescuers!" Haru fumed at the top of her lungs. "They're not even **trying **to rescue me; it's like they're trying to reserve 'dibs' on me before they even bother thinking about challenging Lord Maliss!"

_Both of them leaned back, since the stolen brunette had almost never used that tone when she lived in the village._

"As if that's not bad enough, each and every one of them thought I _was _a princess!" Haru added, taking one hand off the mirror so that she could shake one fist. "I was expecting at least **one **of them to say 'don't be silly, Lord Maliss only takes ladies of quality' when I tell them I'm a peasant! Even when they believe me, it doesn't change their minds about trying to carry me off! It's like I'm some… _trophy_ that everyone wants to steal from Lord Maliss for bragging rights!I flat out tell them that the amulet won't let me leave the castle, commit suicide, or even be out in broad daylight, and they **still **act like I'm being a spoiled brat when I say they have to kill Lord Maliss before they should bother with approaching me. I take back every wish I ever made about wanting men to notice me." _'I should have said '__**decent**__' men! That might have saved me some trouble!'_

"_Well, __**I'd **__say Lord Maliss hasn't changed his policy about classy ladies," Hiromi defended her friend with her usual enthusiasm. "How many have there been for you to get this worked up about it?"_

Haru blinked and started counting them off on her fingers. "Let's see, there's the cobbler, the guy with the funny stick, the musician, Prince Redshirt, Prince Vine…" She paused and switched which hand was on the glass so that she could keep going. "Prince 'Check Out My Awesome Cape', Sir 'No, Really! I Killed Lord Maliss And Now You Owe Me', and just now, Prince 'I Promise I Really Do Like Girls'." Haru rested her head on the cool glass again and groaned. "The way he moved. I have no idea why, but as soon as I saw that pansy, I wanted to strangle him. Eight so far."

That made the Looking Glass desperately start trying to hold back his guffaws, but it was a losing battle.

"_Did you say that one of them managed to kill Lord Maliss?" Tsuge asked like he didn't believe it._

In his defense, that would have been the first thing Haru talked about if it had been true.

"That knight went through an elaborate scheme to make me think he did, but it was no match for my cold logic. I'm only disappointed I didn't manage to sew up his fake wounds before dumping him into that thorn bush," Haru added with a wicked grin. "They were clever wounds, but my needle would have found his real skin just the same."

"_Then it served him right," Hiromi cackled as Tsuge winced._

"_Easy for __**you **__to say, love. Haru's stitched me up before."_

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Haru couldn't resist laughing at the memory. "I let you get drunk first, didn't I?"

"_Not drunk enough," he mourned, getting up to look at the fallen food with despair before slicing at a bread loaf._

"_**Men**__," Hiromi sighed while rolling her eyes._

"**Men**," Haru agreed while managing a laugh. "You had one long cut, Tsuge. He had at least ten. I should have remembered how you reacted and tied him down to several pieces of furniture before I threaded my needle or told him what I was planning to do with it."

The mirror completely lost it at that statement, making Haru set her ear against the glass to hear anything other than his rich guffaws.

_Tsuge shuddered and covered his ears before he started with the jam. "Haru, I'm __**begging **__you to find something else to talk about!"_

"Big baby," Haru teased before she thought of something. "Hiromi, I need you to use your gossiping skills for me. I don't know who this will help, but I want it to be able to help someone."

_As expected, her oldest and dearest friend leaned forward eagerly with anticipation._

"Lord Maliss doesn't just slap on the amulet and drag his victim to bed. He has a set of rules he follows, and a set of triggers that make him turn his idea of 'affectionate'. He doesn't tell anyone what the rules or triggers are, but-"

A terrible roar from outside the castle reached her through the stone walls.

"**He's back**," Haru choked with a sinking feeling. "The only trigger I know is vampires. Tell them to never mention vampires to him, no matter how much his looks make them want to. I have to go before he finds me here. I love you."

"_Haru, wait-" Hiromi tried to say, _but Haru taking her hands off the glass made it go black again.

"Thank you," the captive woman said to the face warmly, pressing her hand against one cheek with real affection before she ran out of the room, leaning down just enough to scoop her poker back into one hand.

The mirror sighed sadly as her rapid footsteps faded away.

"_May her heart, so good and true_

"_Be able to see this peril through."_

ooOoo

After Haru was certain she had put herself far enough away from the Mirror's room, she forced herself into a more casual jog instead the panicked run she had given when she thought Lord Maliss was going to appear out of nowhere and-

Almost like her thoughts could summon him, Haru turned a corner and slammed right into her sorry excuse of a husband.

"Well, now!" he exclaimed in surprise, wrapping his arms around her before she could get away and holding her tight against him in a terrible mockery of a hug. "Did absence make the heart grow fonder, **dear**?" he smirked, forever keeping one hand on his dragon staff.

"Not for _you_," Haru responded automatically while trying to wiggle out of his _horrible _embrace. "I just need to slow down at corners." _'I wish I could use the poker on him without him just taking it away!' _She gripped it a little tighter in case he tried to make an issue about her having a weapon.

He laughed like she had told another really good joke. "Ah, good old peasant honesty. What a pleasant change. Tell me **dear**; did you see anyone else down these halls?"

Haru had enough experience pretending nothing hurt her to not even bat an eyelash. "Just some vermin scuttling around the corners. That's why I'm carrying a poker."

His dark eyes immediately trailed to her side, his lips set in disapproval at how hard she was gripping the makeshift weapon. "I have servants to deal with vermin. Why don't you drop that filthy thing and let them handle it?"

"There never seems to be servants around when I see them," Haru answered with complete honesty. "Besides, you'd take the poker away if I tried to use it on you, and I can't hurt myself with it. Since that only leaves the servants, I'm surprised you'd care if I used this on them or not." _'Though I guess I should clean it. I think my ladies in waiting are getting sick of washing the rust stains off my gloves.'_

"I don't," he informed her shortly, ending the hug but keeping her close with one firm hand on her waist. "But isn't a fire poker a little undignified?"

"Peasant girl," she reminded him while shrugging her shoulders and wishing he'd keep his hands to himself. "You knew you weren't getting someone refined."

He thought that over while forcefully turning around and walking with her down the hall; his bride on one side and his staff clicking against the stones in the other. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that, **dear**. I was thinking about you on the flight back home, and it occurred to me that I didn't get to laugh or say anything poor about your table manners."

"Glad to have disappointed you," Haru responded automatically, though her stomach was clenching in dread.

Conversations like this had begun in the village before. Usually at a celebration when everyone ate together, or when people reminisced about her mother.

"I also got to thinking," he continued, holding her even closer to him as they continued their walk. "That was a very remote and tiny village you ran away from. I'm surprised that fine table manners would be something to practice there. Is there something you would like to tell me?"

Haru knew that look of smug pride at figuring something out. She'd been fighting it practically from the cradle.

"Not you, too," Haru groaned, forcefully unpinning her arm at his side to rub her forehead, since she wasn't about to let go of the poker for anything. "Don't get any ideas about my heritage. Mother worked as a servant for a rich family in the city before she met my father, and she had ambitions on marrying out of the common class. She learned to imitate certain things the rich did and forced me to learn them after she and Father eloped to that village. Since she was a city servant and you need certain skills to live that far away from things she used to buy instead of make herself, the other villagers were convinced no matter what that she was a disgraced noble for marrying my father. She was a lot better at embroidery than cooking for the first few years, and no one has ever let me forget that. You did not accidentally 'ruin' your favorite number."

Much to her surprise, Lord Maliss looked more disappointed than disbelieving.

"What a shame. I think I would have laughed forever if you had been a noblewoman in hiding."

Haru got ready to ask how many noblewomen ran through these halls, but stopped herself when she remembered the last time he chased her. _'Not going through getting caught again!' _"If any of them have been doing that, they'll probably stop after my village manages to convince anyone you took me," she retorted instead, since that was less likely to be one of his triggers.

He tossed his head with an air of unconcern. "You haven't broken any rules yet. Let's see how much longer you can last before I need to worry about a replacement."

Something about his tone implied to Haru that her time was coming sooner than she thought.

'_It's probably for the best. The sooner I die, the sooner I can now see __**both **__of my parents again.' _At least there was something to cheer her up.

Then Lord Maliss started walking faster while forcing her to do the same, alerting her that she probably wasn't going to like whatever it was he had in mind.

"But now that I know you've had some proper training, I think I'd like to see for myself how well you perform in a ball room."

Haru almost warned him. It would have been cruel not to, she knew that. _'One hundred and thirteen,' _she reminded herself before deciding to settle between a warning and long overdue karma. "I think you'll find me a disappointment," she informed him a little breathlessly, since he was almost running now and she wasn't used to trying to keep with someone else's pace.

"I'm sure you're being modest," he laughed, only getting encouraged by her obvious reluctance.

ooOoo

The monsters that served Lord Maliss were later forbidden from asking what happened in that ballroom for the few minutes he and his wife were locked within. All they knew was that there was a muffled cry of pain that wasn't from their current mistress, who was almost immediately sentenced to her room for the rest of the night, and her sewing things taken away as additional punishment. Lord Maliss had required a stretcher so that he could be taken to his room by monster guards as painlessly as possible, though he tried desperately to make it look like he wasn't in that much pain, he was feeling lazy.

What chilled their blood about the unknown incident, however, was the rather evil smirk on Haru's face instead of their lord's as she spent the rest of the night polishing her poker until it gleamed.

xxXxx

A/N; Haru knows nothing about ballet in this fic, which is why she's misinterpreting the way Mytho moves. Also, it was just in this chapter that I noticed that there was something to echo the mirror from Beauty and the Beast, but with personality. Huzzah, Dom Delouise!


	7. First

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Seven: First**

_I'm not asking to be your first thought._

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

_**Night Eleven**_

"Just remember," Haru cautioned her ladies in waiting again as she made herself comfortable on the bed. "Only disturb me or make noise if it's important."

"Are you _sure _you'd rather not be alone to do this, my lady?" Red asked again as she grabbed a pillow and fluffed it out of nerves.

Haru nodded firmly. "Things always seem to happen when I'm alone in the castle. If all it takes to keep them from happening is a little company, then I really appreciate the three of you staying with me."

Agnes offered her a nervous smile before she went back to her mending. "Have fun with… whatever it is you're doing."

"Oh, I will," Haru assured the frog monster before sitting cross-legged on the bed. To be sure that her servants would know that she wasn't secretly just getting some extra sleep, she leaned forward, rested her head on her hands, and began a rhythmic breathing as she closed her eyes.

_It took a while for her mind to bring to life what she wanted to see, but when Haru saw the full moon shining on her through the trees, she knew it was worth the effort._

_She looked down at her attire, gleeful that she was once more in the plain homespun she had worn since she was a child. She wrapped herself up a bit more in the warm shawl resting around her shoulders as she deeply inhaled the sweet and crisp night air that was tinged with the scent of pine and a distant stove cooking something delicious. _

_It was a good night. Not very late yet, but nice and quiet. She only needed one more thing to make it perfect._

_The silver moon's light seemed to solidify into a being at her side. It was about a head taller than her, and broad enough of shoulder to give the impression of being a male._

_He tipped a little hat at her, the blank face bunching up on the sides as if in a grin. Haru felt her heart grow unsteady just at seeing someone smile at her like that._

_He gave a half-sweeping motion to the distinct forest path in front of them, suspiciously clear of all roots and loose stones with just enough moonlight so that they could see._

'_Will you walk with me' wasn't asked as much as it was implied, but Haru nodded yes all the same as her heart beat with excitement._

_He offered her an arm that she gladly took. As one, they simply walked down the straight and narrow path. There was no talking by either of them, and that was just fine by Haru. When it came to a boy she honestly felt for, the right words had never been able to come out. _

_She didn't even know what the right words were. But for now, it was more than enough to just walk by someone's side and not feel the least bit like she was in danger._

… _Why would she ever feel like she was in danger? This was her home, and this silent being was the only man to pay her any worthy attention since her father was broken by her mother's death. Tsuge didn't count; he was Hiromi's love. The elders didn't count; they always spoke warmly to her and noticed her little efforts to make the village a better place to live, but none of them really recognized her as a woman._

_Haru __**needed **__to be seen as a woman. As long as she stayed here with her new friend, she would have just that._

_The path didn't turn or twist, and it stayed unusually flat so that they could only focus on being together, for as long as they felt like walking. Haru could have walked like that forever…_

"My lady," Red prodded her while shaking her lady's shoulder gently.

Haru's head slipped off her hands, making her snap back to the real world in mid-dream stride. "Yes?" she asked while trying not to get too annoyed.

Lord Maliss had arranged to have bread and water sent up to her room instead of calling her for dinner, so Haru thought it was safe to assume that she was supposed to remain there the rest of the evening.

Blondie was giving her a nervous smile. "It's not our idea, my lady, and try to keep your voice down. Looking Glass wants to see you again."

Haru's eyebrows raised in shock. "You know about that?" she nearly whispered.

"He managed to catch a passing guard's attention, and he passed it onto us. Lord Maliss is still… _recovering_ in his room," Red clarified with a nervous smile.

Haru couldn't resist a wicked grin of accomplishment.

Agnes shivered at such a smile, but pointedly placed Haru's black slippers onto her feet after rotating the girl enough so that her feet were hanging over the edge of the bed. "We're trying to say that as long as you don't try to use the Looking Glass, the master will never know. I know it's forbidden, we could all get in huge trouble if he finds out-"

"If I got him half as well as I know I did, he'll need more than twenty-four hours to recover, even with magic," Haru responded with a devilish smirk, hopping out of bed and marching to the door. On an impulse, she grabbed the now-polished poker as Red and Blondie opened the door for her. "If Maliss notices I'm gone and asks questions, tell him I acted on my own. No sense in all of us dying." Giving the three of them a warm smile, she marched out into the hallway.

After the purple bird closed the door, Red sighed sadly and turned to her sister as their mistress's steps faded away. "I have to agree that I'll miss this one, though."

Blondie and Agnes nodded in complete misery.

ooOoo

That silver face lit up when the door swung open to reveal the latest bride, looking around the room warily just in case.

"_I am so pleased!_

"_You've returned to me!"_

Haru smiled up at the mirror before closing the door behind her. "Sorry for taking a while. I was lost yesterday when I found you the first time." Satisfied that they were alone, she almost sat on the high back chair facing the mirror but stopped as she realized who the usual occupant probably was.

Her flesh shuddered in revulsion at even sitting where he once sat.

Acting like nothing was wrong, she walked up to the mirror and leaned against the same wall it was hanging on, still keeping her poker in one hand. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked while giving Mirror another polite smile.

He smiled just as easily at her.

"_I was hoping to know_

"_If you have a means to overthrow."_

"Lord Maliss?" Haru asked before laughing scornfully. "I _wish_. But unfortunately, I think he's got me. Did you like how I made him regret it yesterday?" she asked with an evil grin.

Mirror smiled beatifically.

"_I wish anguish and pain_

"_Was all from brides he gained_

"_You bring him nothing but trouble,_

"_Which I was hoping would be doubled."_

Haru shrugged while lifting her arms in a helpless gesture, even though one hand was still gripping the poker. "This isn't easy for me to say, but he's bigger, faster, stronger, and smarter than I am. When he decides that isn't enough advantages, he uses his magic on me. Believe me, if I thought I had a single prayer of taking him down myself… you can't read thoughts?" she asked in surprise.

"_I've tried, but all for naught."_

Haru rubbed the side of her head while resting the back of her head on the wall. "Can Lord Maliss?"

Mirror actually took a second to try to find a rhyme that would suit the question, but finally shook his head with a sheepish expression.

"_I know he wants your thought_

"_Ever since you tied the knot_

"_But your mind is a mystery_

"_Which he regrets, bitterly."_

She almost argued that point, but then remembered the previous evening. If Lord Maliss had known ahead of time what happened to her dance partners, he'd also have known about all the men that had been trying to steal her from him. Not that he deserved her, but none of those men necessarily deserved death for being annoying.

"I'm pretty sure I'm not the only bride that prefers thinking to talking," she offered instead.

"_Your mind, do you share_

"_With those who look after your care?" _Mirror asked pointedly.

Haru scoffed at the stupidity. "Of course not! Even if they hate Lord Maliss even more than I do for all the friends of theirs that have gotten killed, they'd probably tell him anything he wanted to know if he offered the right torture! I still like them," she clarified while standing proud and away from the wall. "I just understand it's too risky to trust them or anyone as long as Lord Maliss is in charge here. Even you, really," Haru apologized as gently as she could. "I know it's not likely that Lord Maliss will ask if you've ever spoken to me, but I doubt I've lived this long by taking chances." At that, she deflated helplessly.

"My time's drawing close. I bet Lord Maliss is usually in the sky by now for his next victim. I could die any day, any time."

"_And you, still in your prime._

"_So many wishes and dreams_

"_Never to be fulfilled, it seems."_

"Thanks for reminding me," Haru griped at him while almost throwing her own back against the wall again. "I had to retreat into my imagination tonight just to get my first genuinely romantic moment. Heaven knows I'm not going to get anything that precious from the 'heroes' that think all they have to do is throw me over one shoulder and carry me off like a stolen rug. Lord Maliss probably doesn't even understand the first thing about romance, since he enjoys skipping the parts that make a relationship worth the work to maintain it."

Mirror laughed at that.

"_I've been telling him that for years_

"_But my advice, he never hears_

"_All he sees is what he wants_

"_So to naysayers, he can flaunt."_

"What, flaunt the fact that he failed at marriage one hundred and thirteen times?" Haru retorted angrily. "The only type of person that would be proud of a record like that should never bother with marriage. He could be like any other pig and take care of his needs in one of those questionable establishments I hear bigger towns and probably cities have, and not have to worry about feeding and clothing someone he isn't expecting to stick around and couldn't care less about if he _tried_."

"_That's been pointed out_

"_Don't you have any doubts._

"_But he thinks it gives him power _

"_To trample on helpless flowers."_

Haru's temper flared angrily. "So now he's complaining because this flower has thorns? Poor baby."

Mirror grinned wickedly in approval, but then seemed to get distracted by an unwanted thought.

"_You are adventurous, strange, and wild_

"_You've made other brides seem mild._

"_Are you truly ready to lay down to rest_

"_Before your own wants have been addressed?"_

Haru held up her hands in another helpless gesture. "Look, what I want, I can never have thanks to that creep. It was over before it had a chance to begin because people like Machida refuse to tell me in a timely manner if I'm waiting in vain. That's why I've been sulking since I was brought here!" She set her forehead against his cool glass and closed her eyes in pain.

"I feel like I've been waiting my whole life. Waiting for Mother and Father to have another baby like they promised. Waiting for Mother to get better from the fever. Waiting for Father to wake up and realize I'm still around and need attention. Waiting for Machida to speak to me for real. Waiting for the courage to speak to him myself before losing him to Sakura. Waiting, waiting, waiting… Now I'm only waiting to die. We both know Maliss isn't going to go out of his way to make it painless, either. Especially after what I did to him in the ball room."

Although Mirror didn't say a thing for the longest time, Haru got the impression that he would have put arms around her shoulders if he only had some. She forced herself to settle for setting the poker against the wall and wrapping her own arms around herself and pretending it was him.

She'd had plenty of experience with doing that. She just wished that she could experience something like that when it was for her alone, and not from Maliss.

"… _Your heart may be tired and weary,_

"_But there is still something you can do, dearie."_

Haru tiredly lifted her eyes enough to see what he wanted.

"_You've accepted your death_

"_With more grace than most_

"_But before your last breath,_

"_Why not something that deserves a toast?"_

"I'm not following your logic," Haru confessed while wiping repressed tears out of her eyes with a handkerchief before blowing her nose.

"_Though thoughts I cannot see,_

"_There are things considered beneath one's dignity._

"_If death is the only escape_

"_Let your inner wish take shape."_

"I already explained-" Haru tried to remind him, but he kept going.

"_Be honest, little Haru._

"_Is there no secret desire _

"_You would like to do?"_

Haru stopped short. Almost against her own will, she vividly remembered something her mother told her about what rich children used to use their beds for. Her own bed back at the village had been completely unsuited for such a thing, and the disdain in her mother's tone had been enough to keep her from trying it anyway.

She giggled a little nervously while rubbing the back of her neck in the same manner. "Well… there was **one** thing that I used to think about doing all the time. But it might be a little too naughty."

Mirror flinched but acted like nothing was wrong.

"_A little too naughty?_

"_With the master of the castle _

"_**This **__haughty?"_

That was a very fair point. It didn't help that Haru's heart was now beating faster, and not from fear this time!

She was really excited about doing this. Her mother would probably start rolling in her grave if she did it, but chances were good that Naoko Yoshioka had started rolling as soon as Lord Maliss had snatched her child away. What could it really hurt?

"What could it really hurt?" Haru repeated out loud with an excited smile, hardly believing that she was seriously considering the impropriety. But even she knew that her mother would prefer her doing such a horrible thing than even be on the same continent as Lord Maliss.

"_With death so certain,_

"_Why not some fun_

"_Before the curtain?" _Mirror asked while trying to keep the misery out of his face and tone.

That was the last straw.

Haru beamed up at him and pressed both of her gloved hands to his silver cheeks in gratitude. "If on the off-chance what I'm about to do doesn't get me killed, and I get to see you again, I'll let you know if it's as fun as it looks," she promised, remembering to grab her poker before running for the door.

ooOoo

'_At __**last**__!' _Maliss couldn't resist thinking as he ended the eavesdropping spell, standing tall and proud in his latest disguise; a general from one of the Southern Kingdoms. Princes and peasants seemed to have no effect on his pretty little wife, so he was feeling confident that a general would be worth more than another rude dismissal. Especially since the Mirror had all but giftwrapped her for his intentions, as per his orders for once.

Twisting the staff disguised as a sheathed sword at his side, he relaxed the maze spell that held Haru where he wanted her and waited for her footsteps to get just close enough for another collusion.

When the timing was just right, he stepped into the hallway with seeming inattention until laying eyes on her.

Haru didn't even say sorry when she bumped straight into him. Her large brown eyes, sparkling with more life and happiness than he had ever seen before, didn't even latch onto him as she simply sidestepped and kept running down the hall in the direction of her bedroom; still gripping that infernal poker in one hand in case trouble came.

He hadn't registered as trouble this time. He could have been a corner of the wall or a coatrack for all the acknowledgement she had given him.

That was beyond intolerable! Even getting thrown off her balcony and landing on a large thorn bush he had planted for **real** rescuers was better than being ignored!

Fighting not to start screaming, he marched to the Mirror's room, letting his disguise fall away from him until no one could mistake him as anything but 'the worst wizard in a century' as his current wife had put it when he had tried approaching her in the throne room.

Lord Maliss slammed the door shut behind him and stomped toward the scared mirror with a murderous expression. "Show me Haru," he hissed between his teeth. "I deserve to see what can make her ignore my very existence."

For once, the Looking Glass didn't offer any banter. That was at least one good side effect to his little bride putting him in a murderous mood instead of an amorous one.

The glass that had been black cleared until _Haru could be seen rushing through the door of her room and slamming it behind her. "You three might want to leave," she announced with a wide grin as she headed straight for the bed and began untying the canopy while balancing one foot on the bed and the other on her bedside table, leaving her poker by one bedpost for now. "I'm about to do something __**bad**__!"_

"_You, my lady?" one of the heads on the purple bird laughed, hopping over and flying just high enough to help undo the ties with their beaks on the opposite side of his wife. "You don't have it in you to be bad."_

"**Please **prove her wrong," Lord Maliss groaned under his breath while trying to figure out what Haru was up to and trying not to let himself get excited again.

Why was that his main obsession anymore? Tonight and last night had been dedicated to forcing the Mirror to get her to talk more than she would to the monsters or himself, and even that had limited success! It had seemed at first that Haru had been played right into his embrace where she was meant to be, but it was clear that Haru didn't think of 'bad' the same way the evil wizard did. He leaned even closer to the glass, trying to figure out what she would want with the canopy.

"_No need to untie those two, Agnes," Haru told the other servant when she tried to help as well, pulling the canopy to the lower side of the bed with the purple bird's help before leaving it there. "We'll be tying it back into place when I'm done being a bad girl." She sat on the bed and slipped the delicate black slippers from her even more delicate feet._

Even her bare feet made his knees go weak. He leaned even closer to the glass and prayed that he'd at least get a show worth watching if he couldn't talk his wife into having some _real _fun.

But as soon as Haru stood up in the middle of the bed in those beautiful bare feet, he knew _exactly _what she was up to.

Lord Maliss covered his face with a groan as the Mirror began laughing fit to kill.

_She was jumping on the bed and squealing with delight like a little girl. "I've! Never! Felt! So! Alive!" she cried out, screaming one word at a time when her jump reached its best height, with her shoulders just reaching above where the canopy's bars were._

"I need a drink," Lord Maliss growled in defeat, tiredly using his dragon staff to help him on the long trek down to the wine cellar as the Looking Glass continued to roar with laughter. _'I have married a **child**!'_

ooOoo

Once she had run out of energy, Haru collapsed on the bed while laughing breathlessly. "_So… __**worth it**_!" she wheezed, even though she now ached from head to toe. She hadn't had such a workout since forced to leave her village.

"Um, my lady?" Agnes asked nervously before sparing a glance at Red and Blondie.

Haru thought for sure that she was going to get told that what she did wasn't ladylike, or wasn't as bad as she seemed to think, but she should have guessed the real truth.

"Can we have a turn?"

That made Haru laugh even harder, but she started doing her best to crawl to one side of the bed. "O…One… at a… time!" she was able to gasp before sliding off and resting against the bedside table to give her poor legs some time to recover. _'That was the best workout I've had since coming here!'_

"I want to go first!" Agnes protested as she struggled with Red and Blondie to be the first one on the bed.

"Girls! Come here!" Haru ordered before any serious blows could be exchanged.

"It was _your _fault," Red muttered when the bird and frog monsters hobbled over enough to look at her expectantly.

Haru quickly balled up one fist and lay the other over it while flat. "Paper beats rock," she explained before switching the 'rock' hand to two extended fingers that snipped at her paper hand. "Scissors beats paper." She finished with turning the paper hand into a rock and pretending to smash the scissor hand. "Rock beats scissors. Pick one with your hands at the count of three, winner gets the bed first."

The three heads looked at each other with bafflement. "What if we all pick the same one?"

"You play again until someone wins. One, two, three!"

Agnes had a rock and Blondie had scissors. Cackling with triumph, the blue frog monster climbed onto the bed and started hopping. But thanks to her genes, she had to be careful not to hit her head on the ceiling far above the bed.

"Should have let me do it," Red griped, in a sulky enough mood to just sit next to their mistress on the floor instead of transferring her to her favorite chair or tend to another task. "Was this what the Looking Glass wanted to talk about?"

"… Kind of, yes," Haru admitted now that her breath was under control. "He pretty much hinted that if I'm going to die anyway, I should try enjoying life while I'm still breathing." She inched a little away from the bed in case Agnes broke it. "Good advice," she commented with a slightly delirious smile. "I think I'll take him up on it a bit more if Lord Maliss doesn't kill me for this."

"He won't," Blondie responded, beaming happily at the fact while affectionately running her beak against Haru's head. "He only kills a wife when-"

Red's hand blurred as it grabbed her sister's beak and clamped it shut. "Will you stop trying to get us **killed**!" she demanded as Agnes stopped jumping out of sheer terror, ruining the happy relaxed mood that had been there only a moment before.

But Haru still caught on to what hadn't been said. "It's not about breaking the rules, is it? It's about breaking _the _rule."

"My lady!" Agnes pleaded as she got off the bed to hold her white gloved hands in front of her in a pleading gesture. "It could be our lives if _he _found out!"

But there was no stopping Haru's line of thinking now. She forced herself to get to her feet and begin pacing the room, her thoughts running faster than ever before. "How am I holding out when compared to the other brides?" she nearly demanded.

Blondie finished sneaking her and her sister's body onto the bed before Agnes saw what they were up to. "We all thought for sure you would be dead by now, my lady," Blondie managed in an apologetic tone, merely holding their claim in place until the mood to play had returned. "We're glad that you're still with us, because you're really nice and it's very nerve-wracking when we don't know what our next mistress will be like, or how long it will take the master to find the next one-"

"That's enough!" Red snapped, but Haru held up a hand to calm all of them, including Agnes who just now realized that her spot on the bed had been stolen.

"That should be plenty for me to work with. Enjoy yourselves," she ordered sweetly before sitting in her favorite chair to think. _'He wants me to break a special rule even more than he wants to kill me without it.'_

That was it. The missing thing that she had that highborn women didn't. Whatever the one rule was, it obviously had no meaning to her, or she wouldn't have lasted this long so easily.

The name of the game Lord Maliss was playing was 'Patience'. He had placed all of his hopes on her doing one thing wrong, and that's why he was becoming increasingly short with her, even turning down chances to sneak in unwanted touches, or even leer at her. He'd punish her for not following his plan, of course, but the thought had lost its edge since she was just going to end up dead anyway.

Haru's lips twisted themselves into an evil grin without her conscious thought. The fool. He finally picked the wrong girl to play his little game. She sat up straighter, and kept her head held high as if she really were the lady of this castle.

He wanted to beat his record this year? Haru's was eight years of waiting. For the sake of all the women that would probably follow her no matter the outcome, she was now more determined than ever to break her own record.

There was only one thing that made her discovery all the more precious.

It meant that she could literally do anything she wanted. As long as it wasn't something a highborn lady would even _dream _of doing.

"My lady?" Agnes asked in a low, terrified whisper.

Haru broke free from her thoughts long enough to give her lady in waiting the desired attention.

The blue frog seemed to suck in more than air before saying in one breath, "You're really scary when you smile like that."

Trying not to change her expression, Haru felt her face with one hand.

An evil smirk. For some reason, that smirk only deepened as she thought of all the new ways she could make Lord Maliss regret ever even hearing the word 'wife'.

"Good."


	8. Last

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Eight: Last**

_Just not your last._

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

_**Night Twelve**_

Haru adjusted her stance a little and held the next knife ready. As per her request, all of the monsters that insisted on watching her practice were being as loud and distracting as they could manage, one of the braver ones even jumping in front of her so that she wouldn't see her target.

As soon as a male bird monster passed her line of sight, Haru hurled her blade at the thick plank of wood that had a white 'X' painted on it.

It hit dead center. Thanks to the tight cloister of knives in the exact same spot, the center of the 'X' was hidden from view.

"I'd like those knives back," Haru called, making Brick hurry up with the basket he had presented them in, and start wedging them out of the worn wood one blade at a time.

Haru had to admit that she was in a better mood this night than most of the ones since she was forced to come here. Maliss had sent bread and water to her room again instead of demanding her presence for dinner, so she had the whole night to herself to think up what she'd rather do than sulk and worry about her inevitable death.

After her bread and water for the night had been delivered again, Haru amused herself with another round of jumping on the bed before raiding the armory for every knife she could find.

At first it was just her practicing in the dusty throne room, but word circulated once a guard had peeked his head in to see what the thudding sound meant, and now almost every monster and goblin in the castle was cheering her on and toasting each new throw. The monsters had even lit the torches on the walls of the throne room so they could watch her better.

"This time I'll outline the white marks," Haru announced, readying her stance again before letting the surrounding noise fade into nothing from her point of view.

Rhythmically, the blades trailed down one slant before finishing it on the other slant.

Haru checked the remaining knives with glee as the guards roared their approval. "Hold on, I think I can put a box around the 'X'!"

"**What is going on in here?!**" a familiar voice roared, turning the throne room as silent as a grave.

Haru turned, glad that her livid husband standing in the doorway had decided to announce his presence when she wasn't in the middle of a throw. "Knife-throwing," she responded in the most off-hand manner she could manage just before doing a tricky throw over her shoulder. One glance over said shoulder showed that she had hit the top of the board, directly over the middle part of the 'X'. She couldn't resist a smile of satisfaction, even though she knew that her monster of a husband wouldn't let her complete the box.

Lord Maliss was glaring at her again. His eyes weren't turning red, but there were definitely all the familiar danger signs as he fiercely gripped the dragon staff at his side. He marched off of the door still on the ground to draw close. "All of you clear out," he growled while never taking his eyes off Haru. "I want a private word with my wife."

Inside of a minute, every single monster had managed to force themselves out the doorway, making the large door still on the floor creak and rock in protest until the two were very much alone. But there were still random beer stains on the floor from monsters trying not to spill their mugs in their haste to leave.

Haru looked at him coolly while untying the cords that had held her long flowing sleeves out of the way up past her elbows. "Let me guess; it's unladylike for me to throw knives, even if I'm really good at it?" she asked while untying her hair from its familiar ponytail. _'I don't want to give him an excuse to touch me,' _she thought, not in the least bit sorry that she had left the circlet in her room.

"You _**think**_?!" he demanded while slamming the staff for emphasis. He took another step closer to assert dominance with his height, a good two heads taller than her. "I should have asked this your first night here; _why is your aim that accurate_?!"

Haru couldn't resist a rueful smile at all the memories. "If you had ever had to defend a chicken coop from weasels or wanted to catch a rabbit for dinner, you would understand." Then she gave an uncaring shrug. "Rabbit stew's better, but I know how to make weasel tasty in a pinch."

She never thought she'd see the day when Lord Maliss would shudder in revulsion at something she said, but it definitely helped with her courage.

He tried to shake off his disgust to keep glaring at her. "At least I shouldn't have to explain why I'm going to have the servants come back for **those**," he stated while sparing a glare at the knives sticking out of the plank and the basket of them that had been abandoned at his wife's feet.

"What does my little hobby matter? We both know I'm not really a lady-" Haru tried to reason, but Lord Maliss grabbed her by the forearm and roughly pulled her close with that steely grip of his.

"You are _my _lady, and so help me, you _will _start acting like it! Do you really want to test my patience, girl?!" he snarled, letting some of the dragon out for her benefit.

It took a lot of her willpower to pretend that he wasn't bruising her arm and keep her tone slightly bored. "Sorry, but you took my sewing things away, and that was the only 'lady' skill I really have."

He rolled his eyes heavenward in frustration. "Didn't you find the library while roaming around the castle?! That's one of the few rooms I've been keeping in perfect order!"

Haru nodded while wishing he'd release her, or at least not hold her shoulder up at that uncomfortable angle. "I found it, but what good is a library to someone that can't read?"

Lord Maliss looked like he was going to argue another point, but then he stopped cold at the thought. "You can't?" he asked while lowering her arm enough so that she didn't have to stand on tiptoe.

Haru tried to make herself remember that he was used to dealing with educated princesses and high-born ladies. "It's not exactly a necessary skill where I'm from. We get by with just the sheriff and an elder knowing how to do it."

Lord Maliss was smiling at such words, thinking them over for a dreadfully long time before reaching a decision. "Well, you're a lady now, and ladies need to know that sort of thing. I guess there's extra work for Baron to do around here, after all."

Haru blinked. "Baron? Is he a monster I haven't met yet?"

The evil wizard actually laughed at her question, as if he no longer had a care in the world. "No, he's a human I'm forcing to help with a scheme of mine. I brought him back with me on this last excursion from the castle. He's crucial for certain parts, but not everything. He's been complaining of boredom ever since I fetched him two nights ago, so teaching you should keep him on his toes."

Haru felt a cold pit at the center of her stomach. _'Is that the only thing he's been complaining about?'_ "Are you _sure _about ordering me to spend time with another man?" she deliberately phrased since even she knew that was a bad idea for an unhappily married woman.

It almost didn't matter if the Baron was a shriveled-up grandfather with a bad temper; he'd _**still **_be a better choice than Lord Maliss!

"Oh, you'll be fine," he laughed while finally releasing her arm. "He's so proper that he wouldn't _dream _of 'being forward' with another man's wife."

"**There's **a comfort," Haru muttered under her breath and resisting the impulse to rub her sore arm. "But I'm a little surprised you're still insisting on this. I mean… never mind," Haru took back since it probably wasn't a good idea to remind him that he's probably used to searching for the next bride by now.

"I _will _never mind," her husband agreed with a strange cheerfulness that worried her. "Every night after dinner, you are to report to the library for your lesson. He may be my prisoner, but he will be returning home if he behaves himself under my roof. You are to act the lady at all times around him, so no more little side trips to your room for worthless trinkets-" He gave a significant look to the cowl buttoned over the top of her dress. "-Or looking less than presentable to him. I don't want anyone to think that I brought home a savage," he insisted with a certain tone that meant trouble if she defied him. He was already turning back to the opening to leave, possibly to work on whatever scheme he had been cooking up.

The door creaked under his weight and moved slightly thanks to the handle holding it at an odd angle.

'_Worthless trinkets to __**you**__,' _Haru couldn't resist thinking while putting a hand to the neck of her current cowl. _'If he hadn't taken away my needle and thread, I could sew a pocket onto my skirt so I could at least carry a scarf with me to dinner.' _"Is reading all that difficult?"

"Not if you're clever enough," Lord Maliss informed her, turning enough to look at her speculatively. "Less than a month," he decided with a note of finality as a wave of the staff blew out every flame that wasn't in the lantern by her feet. "I'm sure you'll be reading fine by then."

Haru had to admit to herself that she was tempted to be stupid on purpose but decided not to add that to Baron's troubles. She knew better than anyone that being stuck as a prisoner of Lord Maliss was hardship enough.

"Now run along to bed," Lord Maliss informed her like an indulgent parent just before exiting her line of vision. "It's nearly dawn, and it's always easier to learn when you're fully rested."

Haru cast a mournful glance at the tall windows that framed a pinkish tinge in the sky. She'd never minded the stillness of night, but now her heart longed to be under the sun again. She sighed while retrieving her usual weapon of choice from where it had been resting against the wall.

"Don't even _think _of bringing that poker to your lessons!" Lord Maliss suddenly remembered to shout after he was halfway down the hall, making her flinch angrily.

"Dang it!" she tried to whisper under her breath.

_**Night Thirteen**_

Lord Maliss glared at his wife across the table, holding his staff perfectly erect like he intended to use it. "I mean it, **dear**. If I do this and find one piece of evidence that you're defying me, I'll…" He actually stopped and thought about what he'd do about further disobedience. That horrible smirk returned with a vengeance. "I'll search you _by hand _before every lesson."

Haru blushed with furious embarrassment, since she knew he'd delight in such an excuse. "_I hate you_," she snarled while pulling up her skirt and feeling grateful that the table cut him off from seeing anything.

His eyebrows shot up with interest, so Haru hurriedly untied the scarf that was holding a single dagger against her thigh and threw her skirt back down before he got tempted enough to look under the table. She slammed the items next to her plate, her face still red with humiliation and fury. "I haven't felt safe in this cold place since you forced me to come here! If Baron's going to behave himself as much as you insist, why should you care if I carry something that's only supposed to make me feel better?!"

"Because you don't need it," he answered, sharply tapping his staff like he had shortly before marrying her.

Haru watched helplessly as her last line of defense flew through the air and into his waiting hand.

He smiled thinly before pressing the scarf to one cheek with a languid expression. "Still warm… and it smells like you, too."

"You're a disgusting creep," she hissed, not able to take any more for tonight. Pushing her plate away from her, she forced the chair aside enough so that she could slip out and start marching for the door without waiting for the usual help. "I'm going to go see if your 'guest' isn't."

He gave a warm chuckle that rubbed her senses in the worst way. "I doubt you'll be disappointed, **dear.**"

At least he was letting her leave him. That part was nice.

Haru couldn't help feeling half-naked as she reluctantly dragged herself down the hall after Felix, who was escorting her again for a good first impression on the Baron. That horrible exposed feeling wasn't just because she had been left without something to cover the marks Lord Maliss had left her with.

It just didn't feel right to intentionally go see a strange man without some means of keeping him at arm's length. Sure, he wasn't a 'rescuer', but that didn't make her feel any less nervous. As twisted as it would have felt, Haru might have even appreciated her husband introducing them in person and give the Baron a few pointed threats about what would happen if Haru reported that the newcomer so much as laid a single finger on her.

But no. Whatever scheme Lord Maliss was cooking up, it was even more important than harassing his wife or laying his own fingers on her unless she dared to try making her own decisions. It was probably selfish, but Haru was grateful for anything that could take his mind off her. All she could do was hope that a bunch of people weren't going to get hurt by what his big plans were.

'_Figures. The first man I wouldn't have minded getting permanently ignored by is the one man I get stuck with. I hate my life.'_

Felix looked back at her worriedly while holding his torch in front of him. "It probably won't be so bad, my lady. You're bright enough to learn something like reading."

"Too bad one of _you _can't teach me," Haru muttered under her breath, still wracking her brain to get one tiny handhold on the latest strange predicament Lord Maliss had thrown her into with no way out.

Just her and some nobleman in the library for a few hours or however long a lesson lasts… she really should have asked more questions about this sort of thing when she had a chance.

But just as Felix was opening the large library door with one clawed hand to announce her, Haru saw the answer to her dilemma.

"Lady Maliss," Felix called out for the second time that night, already moving his scaly feet to retreat respectfully, but Haru was moving before he could get out of range.

"And her chaperone!" she announced in the same tone, putting a heavy grip on Felix's arm and half-dragging him into the cavernous room with her.

Poor Felix actually squawked in terror, but it was already too late for an escape.

"Her _what?!_" was the immediate response from an unfamiliar voice, in the general direction of the comfortable couches and chairs in the center of the room.

But Haru didn't look up yet since she was busy forcing Felix towards that comfortable spot to stand him awkwardly near a chair where he would be able to see everything. "I'm sure you know all about that word if you're an upper crust. Either I get a chaperone, or you don't get a student." Fixing an incredible nervous Felix with a warning smile for him to play along, she looked straight at her teacher with a glare. "It's your call."

She should have known better than to hope for a withered old man or a scrawny scholar that would have posed no real threat. The Baron wasn't as lean as the prince with the red cape, but he did have orange hair like two of the rescuers and a proud bearing that made her think of a soldier.

It did help that his grey suit wasn't 'suited' for rescuing. But it didn't help that he was probably the best-looking man she had seen while living in the castle, or that he was the first man she had ever seen with such intense green eyes. They even put Hiromi's to shame.

Haru fought to keep her face straight and unmoved, although she was secretly glad that their first meeting was when she was angry with men in general. A man like that could have turned her attention away from _Machida_ if they had met under different circumstances.

Those stunning grass eyes were flashing angrily as if they were made of green fire, but the man was able to control himself and wave a grand hand at a small slate waiting on one of the couches.

The other side of the couch where he had been waiting, a small simple cane resting next to his place.

"If you insist on this, Lady Maliss. Take a seat."

"I prefer Haru," she informed him defiantly, patting Felix's arm for a late apology before settling herself down with the slate and white stick in a one-person chair instead of the couch it had been waiting on. Despite her circumstances, she couldn't help but be fascinated by the white marks the chalk was leaving on her black gloves.

For some reason, even _that _seemed to annoy the Baron.

ooOoo

Maliss nearly wrenched her arm out of its socket when she rounded a corner after her lesson. "A _chaperone_?!"

"That's my writing arm!" Haru tried not to yelp in surprise but could barely see straight through the pain. "You break that, no more lessons!"

It was sad, how _that _was what made him reign in his temper enough to switch his grip to her left arm. "Did you **really **think I was going to let this behavior slide?!"

"Just establishing boundaries," the peasant girl managed through clenched teeth while trying to wriggle herself out of his grasp. "For… some reason… I _hate _the idea of a man getting too close to me." She glared up at her equally furious husband, trying to use her eyes alone to express how deep her hatred was for him. "I wonder why."

Lord Maliss glared down at her. "I think you owe me something for that."

"You made me leave my poker in my room," she snarked before clamping her teeth shut like iron in case-

He was kissing her again. Even worse, he had picked her up and pinned her against a wall with his own body where she couldn't conveniently reach anything, intentionally biting her lip and digging his claw-like nails into her flesh to make her cry out.

But she didn't dare. Keeping her teeth firmly clenched through the pain, she tried to push him off. He merely used his dragon staff to pin one hand uselessly and keeping his other hand on her wrist when he found her jabs too annoying to ignore, and pressed his knees into her legs to keep her from kicking him or worse since he had held her up at a convenient height for him to not need to bend over for his ministrations. Haru tried to turn her face away from his, but he forced her head into an angle against one shoulder to keep her still, never breaking off the kiss until he decided that it was enough for now.

He pulled away with a somewhat dreamy expression. "That would have been over a lot faster if you had let me give you a proper kiss."

Haru spat out the taste of him to the side for her answer before her feet touched the stone floor, feeling warm blood trickle off her lower lip again. "Just… just kill me and get it over with!" she demanded while trying not to cry in front of him. "We both know that's how this _marriage _is going to end, so why don't you put both of us out of our miseries?!"

Maliss smiled thinly and stole one more unwanted kiss before answering. "All in good time, **dear**. All in good time."

_**Night Fourteen**_

Haru had nothing the next night. Maliss had used his staff again to make sure she wasn't trying to sneak anything past him and was bitterly disappointed for the first time that she was unarmed. She had expected him to use that spell every night she had a lesson, and the worst part was that even stashing a few weapons along the corridors would probably end badly for her.

But she couldn't help but feel lonelier than ever as she made the customary march to the library on her own so she couldn't pull the same trick as before. The Baron had been polite, of course, but that was when there was someone to watch him.

'_If I were stupid, I'd think that Lord Maliss __**wants**__ me to cheat on him.' _Haru shook the idea loose with a scornful attempt at a laugh.

No one could be _that _stupid.

She jumped in surprise as a suit of armor just ahead of her in the hallway randomly fell over in a noisy set of clangs, but closer inspection proved that the rust overtaking it was finally too much to bear. Not thinking any more of it since the rest of the castle was also falling apart, she kept walking.

Before she knew it, she had reached the large library door. She took in a steadying breath and squared her shoulders before opening the door herself. "Evening, Baron," she called gently, leaving the door open behind her.

The tall lord seemed in much better spirits tonight than the night before. "Good evening, Lady Haru," he greeted, though taking the time to walk past her to close the door, keeping his simple cane in one hand and partially walking with it to do so. "My apologies; I find it more difficult to teach when anyone can look in on us."

'_**I **__find it difficult to learn when I know no one's going to check to see if I'm okay.' _Haru tried to shake off her dark mood, but it became even harder when she realized that most of the furniture had been removed from the comfortable area around the raised fireplace. She added another log to that flaming pile before glaring at the lone couch that had been left behind. "Was this your idea or the creep's?" she asked directly while pointing at the furniture.

Baron flinched at her brittle tone. "It was like this when I came in for the evening. I made no mention of needed adjustments."

"Yet he knew almost immediately about Felix," Haru pretended to muse darkly, taking her slate and chalk again but not sitting on the couch when he did. "I didn't even have time to get to my room before he cornered me about it."

He flinched again as he gripped a larger slate on his lap. "When Lord Maliss asks you a direct question, it's a little hard to gloss over what you're thinking."

"That depends on what you want to gloss over," Haru muttered under her breath before taking in a deep breath and giving her teacher a direct look. "Speaking of which, I don't see a reason why I should hide why I'm being rude to you. It's actually nothing to do with you; it's Lord Maliss. When you're at the threat of getting forced by an evil wizard at any time for two weeks and possibly more, it makes a girl **very **nervous about getting too close to other men, promises of honor or not."

He seemed a little baffled at the admission. "You didn't so much as flinch at touching that large… alligator? Lizard? The guard you commandeered yesternight."

Haru laughed slightly as she readied her slate for her lesson in the crook of her arm. "That's because Felix and I are on good terms. Most of the monsters and I are. It's Lord Maliss I have a problem with, and human men in general right now." She did what she could to shake off her bad mood. "Let's get to work."

Baron took in a long deep breath of his own. "I will stay on this side of the couch. You'll have an easier time writing if you're sitting."

Haru closed her eyes for a long second as she considered her lack of options. She didn't want to believe him but learning to write while standing up like this would be awkward. "One move toward me, and I'm gone. Understand?"

The young lord tried to bite back a smile. "I have every reason to believe you. Do you give Lord Maliss this kind of trouble?"

"Not as much as I would like to," Haru growled while reluctantly sitting against the far side of the couch, nearly pressed against the armrest. "Every time I really get on his nerves, he makes sure I pay for it." She shuddered and held the slate ready so that she wouldn't rub at the obvious marks on her neck and shoulder. "The lesson?"

He seemed disappointed that was all she was interested in, but at least he picked up from where they had left off the previous night. Haru had no idea of how well she was doing, but she wasn't interested in finding out what the punishment would be if she fell short of Lord Maliss's expectations for her.

Haru scrunched up her face before displaying the slate for her teacher for what felt like the fiftieth time that night. "Is this any better?"

"Quite a bit, actually," he congratulated her, looking a bit impressed. "I've been told for years that one can learn better if they're taught young, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for you."

"It's going to be hard to remember all this at once," Haru admitted while wiping the slate clean with the usual rag. "I bet if I had my sewing things, I could write much faster than this."

"You wouldn't be the first lady to do so," he informed her with a tolerant smile. "Samplers are a very common way for highborn ladies to practice two skills at once."

Haru gave him a light glare while holding her slate ready. "But I'm not highborn. I'm sure Maliss mentioned that when he ordered you to teach me."

"He didn't, actually," Baron corrected with a nervous cough, one gloved hand to his mouth and the other rubbing his cane nervously. "My cell is clean enough, but it's dreadfully boring. I'm used to a little more bustle in the hallways than this, and far more people to talk to as well as a packed schedule. All Lord Maliss had to do was mention you can't read, and I begged for the honor to remedy that."

"But he did tell you that I'm a peasant?" Haru clarified, even if she was surprised that he wasn't allowed at least a daily book if they were such wonderful ways to pass the time.

"I deduced as much. I'm not offended by it, you know," he informed her with an easy smile. "We of the aristocracy have been forced to let go of certain prejudices thanks to Lord Maliss."

Haru sighed sadly. "Too bad it took Lord Maliss for that to happen." _'Though that does explain why the rescuers weren't that worried when I bothered to convince a few that I wasn't a princess.' _From the corner of her eye, she could see Baron fidget slightly in his seat, like he was itching to get a little closer but trying to suppress it. "Do you want to stop? I think we covered a lot for one lesson."

Baron's face immediately became panicked. "No! I mean… I don't know how you occupy yourself, but… couldn't we just talk?" he nearly pleaded with her. "All I've got to look forward to is a little cell."

"Did Lord Maliss say that you couldn't take any of the books with you?" Haru asked incredulously while waving an arm at the bookcases that seemed to be as tall as mountains. "Or that you have to return to your cell as soon as we're through?"

"Yes to both," he agreed in a heartbeat, setting aside his bigger slate and continuing to beg with his stunning green eyes.

Haru breathed a long sigh both in and out before setting her slate and chalk aside as well. "All right, but if Lord Maliss comes in and demands to know what we're doing-"

"I'll explain that I'm the one at fault," Baron assured her, turning his whole body towards her with a happy grin. "Tell me all about yourself."

Haru thought about it while brushing the chalk dust from the fingertips of her black gloves. The wounds on her hand were about healed now, but she was surprisingly comfortable in the gloves, and it was one less place where Lord Maliss could touch her skin directly. "What if we switch off telling each other things? There's not much to tell about me, and you'd probably get bored before I'm done."

"I very much disagree," he insisted, but at least he recognized the steel in her eyes. He sighed while thinking things over. "I'm Baron Humbert von Gikkingen of Piaal," he formally introduced himself with an elegant bow without getting up from his seat.

"Did you practice that?" Haru asked curiously.

"Practice what?" he asked while looking up with a bit of worry.

"Bowing without getting up. I'm not being picky," she added when he made to stand up to do it properly. "I meant it didn't look awkward for you."

He blinked and smiled a little sheepishly while resuming his seat. "Well, my family's always been insistent on proper etiquette. I sometimes believe Mother took that to extremes, but I can't say that she taught me anything useless."

"I can understand _that_," Haru laughed while relaxing a little. "My mother probably wasn't as bad as yours, but she was ruthless about making sure I knew all the 'genteel manners' that she had picked up working for a rich family." She gave a small shrug and a laugh. "Back in my village, mothers would sometimes send one or more of their children up to my father's cottage with some jam to bribe me or Mother into teaching the child decent table manners. I never had to make my own jam because of that."

He cocked an orange eyebrow at that. "I'm surprised that your villagers didn't mistake her for-"

"**Don't**." The mirth in her tone was completely gone. "I've been fighting that from the cradle. Mother may have been flattered, but I'm not."

He had shrunk back slightly but didn't look ready to give up just yet. "Why not?"

"Because it isn't the truth." Haru gave a half-yank to her skirt and pulled off the circlet on her brow to hold it in front of his eyes for emphasis. "_This _is a lie. I'm no lady. I'm a bagmaker's daughter. Mother may have wanted to be more than a peasant, but one of the last coherent things she said was that she was glad that she hadn't gotten her wish, because that would have put me where Lord Maliss could see me." She scoffed angrily. "Then he found me anyway. I don't like how the other villagers seemed to either put me on a pedestal for 'being of noble birth' or snickering behind their sleeves for being a 'noble' that has to scrub her own laundry just like the rest of them."

Against her better judgement, she slammed the circlet on the cushion between them, stood up, and started pacing in front of the couch. "Instead of, oh, I don't know, judging me for trying to be a decent person no matter what, or that I respect the fact that I'm not the center of the village and can let people make their own choices, even if it doesn't work out the way I always hoped it would, and everyone knew how hurt I was by what they were doing!" Haru had to force herself to stop and take several cleansing breaths to calm down while rubbing her temples.

"But their decisions made it clear that it's better this way. My misery will be over a lot faster now than if I had gotten the husband I wanted." She looked over at Baron, who was stunned to have gotten this much of a reaction out of her.

"Sorry. This is over the agreement." She forced herself to sit back down. "Your turn."

"What makes you so certain that you would have been miserable with this fellow if you wanted to marry him?" he asked curiously.

Haru breathed in deeply through her nostrils and let the breath out the same way before answering. "If Machida and his mother really thought that there was nothing wrong with trying to force me to watch him marry someone else, they would have had no trouble with overriding anything I had to say or wanted if I had gotten him." She leaned against the couch with a wry expression. "I guess it says a lot that I was trying to save up for Machida and I to have a separate home than with his mother."

"… What about your own parents?" Baron prodded again. "Would it have been terrible to share a home with them?"

Haru's hands balled into fists as she felt her heart again begin throbbing in pain. "After Mother died, Father forgot about me. All he cared about was making bags. Picture seven years of getting ignored by the only family member you have left for something that shouldn't have been more important than a relationship with you, no matter what you do for attention."

That struck a deep nerve with Baron. Those green eyes glazed over, and Haru immediately recognized long-buried memories rushing back without permission.

He knew _exactly _how painful that was. Even if he had his mother, and probably friends like she did, there were some vacancies that could never be filled. He opened his mouth, perhaps to explain who it was that had hurt him, but then he snapped it shut and gave himself a brief shake to remember where he was. "Thirteen years, and then death," was all he said before standing up and setting his cane in one hand. "I'm sorry, but…"

"I'll see you tomorrow night," Haru told him, not needing an explanation as she also stood up. She even offered him a small smile and a polite curtsy before gesturing with her head that it was fine if he left first.

He gave her a look brimming with gratitude before marching out at such a fast pace, she had no idea which direction he had gone by the time she got to the door.

ooOoo

_She's too good for you, you know._

"Be silent," Baron snarled as he rematerialized in the personal chambers of Lord Maliss.

_All of them were, but this one is especially too fine to waste on __**you.**_

"I said be still!" Baron shouted, barely controlling his emotions enough to shift into his true form as master of this castle. He collapsed onto his large bed tiredly, trying to stop the memories from coming back.

_Malissa._ His brilliant, beautiful, and devious older sister. Who forgot about him as soon as she had caught that wretched king's eye. They hadn't been _terribly _close before then, but she had still been the only rock in his young life. The only one that fully understood what it took to live up to Father's standards before one of his spells finally backfired on him enough to free the two of them from his tyranny. He had just been a boy when his sister became queen and forgot about everything that had nothing to do with maintaining her status as, how her new husband had put it, 'the fairest one of all'.

It had been such a waste for one with as much magical talent as she to only use her power to maintain that title. Even her last remaining work, the Looking Glass, had only been to ensure that no rival was lurking beneath her notice.

Maliss, on the other hand, had used all his time and resources to become the best wizard of his time. Even Haru, who had nothing but hatred for him, was willing to admit when she thought he couldn't hear her that his hard work had paid off.

Naturally, _just _when his powers had grown enough to force his sister to acknowledge him, maybe even invite him to court so that they could be together again… she was gone. No warning, no sudden illness, just some… sniveling little _princess_ that had no idea she even had a step-uncle.

So now he was here, in his sister's home. Replaying the game, again and again until he didn't bother learning names most of the time. Only playing the game because it was the only thing that gave him pleasure and gave him a shadow of what he wanted.

The newest scheme was working excellently now that he had removed most of Haru's weapons, barriers, and could force her to stay still for longer than insults or hasty pleasantries. But he hadn't expected any words of Haru's to make him feel _this _again.

_**I **__still __**say we should go back to her village and pee on Machida's head! His mother, too!**_

For the first time in his life, Maliss actually considered listening to that last voice.


	9. Everything

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Nine: Everything**

_I'm not asking for everything._

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

_**Night Eighteen**_

Haru stared at the book in front of her, squinting her eyes and praying that she wasn't embarrassing herself again. "… _setting… down the.. pore-clain cup-_"

"Porcelain," Baron corrected her with a small smile.

"What's that?" Haru couldn't resist asking while lowering the red book in her hands.

"It's a type of clay used for fine tea sets. You should see my collection of them," he sighed dreamily. "I do a lot of experimentation with tea blends, and it hardly feels right to use the same china for every batch."

"I thought you said it was porcelain," Haru gently accused while narrowing her eyes at him.

"It means the same thing. Say, how does a cup of tea sound?" he asked like it was the best idea he'd ever had. "It wouldn't take but a moment-"

"I'm fine," she answered distractedly while returning to the book to continue reading. "No offense against you, but I'm doing what I can to refuse everything but water while I'm here. Lord Maliss could have anything up his sleeve. Besides, you could get in trouble for being anywhere but here and your cell."

If she had bothered to look up, the fury on his face would have made her a little suspicious.

_**Night Twenty**_

"Um, Lady Haru," Baron prodded, daring to use the tip of his cane to gently nudge her shoulder since he knew better than to invade her personal space.

Haru started as if broken from another spell. She looked up at her teacher with a little bit of irritation since she wanted to know what happened next. "Did you need something?"

"You're supposed to be reading aloud, remember?" he tried to remind her with a tense smile. "It's my job to help you when you reach a word you don't know, after all."

Haru blinked, shaking her head with a sigh. "Sorry about that. I don't think I was ready for how easy it is to lose yourself in the pages." She fondly patted the written word on her lap before resuming. "I'll try to remember, but I think I have the idea of reading now."

She really would have started reading aloud then, but then she heard a low growl that could have almost come from an animal's throat. The peasant girl looked up to see the new monster, but it was only her tutor, gritting his teeth and gripping his cane in suppressed fury.

That thoroughly confused Haru. "What are you angry for? You're a good teacher, and Lord Maliss wanted me to learn this."

Baron forced himself to calm down before answering. "Please understand my point of view. If you learn how to read this quickly, Lord Maliss won't let me out of my cell anymore, and I'm going to be here for a good while longer."

"How much longer?" Haru couldn't resist asking, closing the book with a thumb holding her place. "Just what is your special skill that Lord Maliss wanted you for?"

He flinched. "It's probably better if you don't know. But for a few weeks more at the least."

Haru hummed, setting the book aside for now, though keeping her thumb in the same place between the pages. "If I thought I was going to live long enough, I'd suggest that you tutor me in something else."

"That's an excellent idea!" he was all too eager to agree. "Is there anything you'd like to learn that I may know something about?"

Haru had to think long and hard about that one. She tapped a finger against her armchair distractedly as her mind wandered. "To be honest, I didn't even really care about learning how to read before the creep insisted on it." But she couldn't resist giving him a sly look. "**You **seem nice, so I don't mind telling **you** that dancing with me is a mistake no man has ever made twice." _'The way my father used to twirl me around is completely different. I don't think my feet ever touched the floor when I was small enough for that.'_

The throbbing in her heart returned as she remembered the man her father used to be. _That _one would have defended her against Kamiko. _That _one would have given her all the support and comfort she needed, and not just over Machida. _That _one-

"Haru!" Baron snapped, forgetting the 'Lady' this time. "Are you even listening to me?!"

The girl snapped back to reality, and she had to shake her head in order to clear it. "Sorry, got distracted by my own thoughts again. Did you have an idea?"

"_Yes_," he responded with strained patience. "How is your singing voice?"

Haru stared at him blankly. "My what?" she asked in a flat humorless tone.

He seemed relieved just to have gotten her attention. Almost like he wanted to make sure that he kept it, the tall gentleman stood up from the couch in order to pace in front of it. "I have already been warned about your lethal skill, so I wasn't considering dancing. But singing is almost as common practice as breathing for the nobility."

"I'm pretty sure this is going into lead to my first argument," Haru quipped with an eyeroll.

Baron took in a deep breath before standing directly in front of her with folded arms.

"You're in my space, Baron," she reminded him, looking the man straight in the eye. _'I may not be allowed a weapon or a chance, but you don't deserve to see my fear.'_

"Haru," he stated again, even though he seemed taken aback by the frankness of her gaze. "Regardless of your birth, you are a lady now. Plain and simple. I will be the first to admit that you're not that likely to receive an invitation to so much as a garden party, but what could it really hurt to let me find out for myself if you have a sweet singing voice as well as a spoken one?"

Haru tried not to blush at the compliment, since no one had ever said one way or the other about how she talked. But since nothing could go her way in this place, she still felt her cheeks turn nice and warm against her wishes. "I wouldn't even use it," she informed him while sweeping her arms out as if at the entire castle. "There's no one to sing to here but myself and the monsters. You're not going to catch me doing it for Maliss if I'm any good."

The notion of making that monster's ears bleed with a screeching song appealed to her, though.

"Then you don't know?" Baron asked, taking a step back so that she could also stand and put a little more distance between them.

"My village had only one musician, and he wasn't exactly the best. Other than silly childhood rhymes, I don't think I've ever sang." Haru looked around the library meaningfully. "Besides, I don't see any instruments. I think Lord Maliss might get upset with us if we try to move to a different room without permission."

"Let me worry about that part," Baron volunteered, immediately gathering his cane and marching out the library door. "I shouldn't have trouble talking him into more lessons."

Haru couldn't resist a small smile of fondness as she sat back down and returned to her book.

She knew full well it was a bad idea to trust him too much, but he was definitely making it hard to stay a stranger.

And, if forced to be honest with herself, Haru desperately needed a friend. Even one as high-strung as Baron.

_**Night Twenty-One**_

Something wasn't right.

It was probably one of Haru's worst understatements, but it was true.

Whatever it was that was occupying Lord Maliss's mind over the past week was enough to almost make him forget to harass his wife over dinner. If that were the only thing out of place, Haru could more than likely have found a way to cope with her uneasiness, but every instinct in her body was throbbing in warning as she walked through corridors that were less than familiar to her. But then, the second floor has always been a bit harder to memorize than the ground floor.

"Lady Maliss," Felix announced while opening a specific door and intentionally keeping his body just out of reach of his mistress just in case she tried to use the 'chaperone' trick again.

Baron looked up from his place next to a single candle in the mostly darkened music room. He grinned happily at the sight of her as he thoughtfully strummed a light melody on the lute resting on his lap. It was a soft, soothing song that should have helped calm her nerves, and she got a little worried over the fact that it didn't help at all.

"Ah, there you are, Haru! I was starting to think you had gotten lost," her new friend teased with good humor as he executed a melody.

"Not if my sorry excuse for a husband has anything to say about it," Haru grumbled under her breath, nodding politely to Felix as he closed the door behind her. With her skin still crawling, she managed to trudge up to him with barely an attempt at a smile. "What on earth did you say to Maliss to make him agree so quickly to this? He hasn't even tried to make me read for him yet, and he's already all worked up for a private concert in the next week."

Baron grinned again while slightly changing the melody. "I gave him a complete report of your progress, and he can read me well enough to know that I'm not lying."

That had to be what's wrong. Haru walked past him in order to start and build up a fire in the simple fireplace. "But it's strange that he didn't insist on some tangible proof that I'm being obedient for once. Especially with how firm he's been about me taking the lessons seriously."

Once the first steady spark started growing out to the other fuel, Haru brushed her hands clean of the splinters clinging to her gloves and stood up to give Baron a serious expression. "Did he explain to _you _why all this was so important?"

Her friend was at a loss for words, even breaking off the song in surprise. "Well… I _suppose _it's because he's accustomed to a certain breed of woman-"

"Then why not _get _that breed of woman?" Haru pressed, now pacing around the fireplace that was steadily becoming brighter and warmer. "He wouldn't need to worry about getting them lessons, at least! Nobody and nothing commands him, so what's stopping that creep from strangling me and going to look for someone that doesn't have to **pretend** to be a lady? It's been almost three weeks, I should have been killed before now!"

"I think you have a distorted sense of his pattern," Baron offered helpfully. "How many rumors have you heard about him? After all, if it's taken him this long to reach thirteen brides in the same year, before the snow even starts to fly, wouldn't that imply that the other brides lived longer than a month? There are only twelve months in a year, you know, and according to his own admitted numbers, that means he actually averages out to eight or nine brides a year."

'_That's what I get for believing every word out of Hiromi's mouth.' _Haru huffed at the information, trying to make the sound annoyed instead of despaired as she continued to pace. "So I might have more time than I originally thought. So what? What's the point of having longer to live if all I've got to look forward to is more reasons to wish for death? _You _have a prayer of getting out of here alive. _**You**_ probably have a nice life waiting for your return. I don't."

Left without anything else to do about her situation, Haru sat in the chair next to her new friend and fought her impulse to bring her knees up to her chest and start rocking her own body for some much-needed comfort. "Even if you're right, I've only got maybe a few more weeks left. Even if Maliss gives me back my sewing things, my father's bags are done, and knowing I'm going to die soon isn't making me eager to think of starting something new to help keep my mind off things when reading doesn't work." She tried not to sigh heavily, but there was so little for her to hold onto. "I just wish I had a way out of all this."

Baron lightly strummed the lute's strings with his fingers. "You could always break a rule," he offered tentatively.

Haru reached over enough to grab a random music book from a shelf and hold it tight against her chest like a child's favorite toy. "It's no good. Whatever the rule is that will make him kill me, I can't find it. Not even openly defying the man is enough." Then she blinked and tried a nervous giggle. "Then again, none of the girls would have lasted long enough for him to use the amulet if it was that easy to really offend him. I had better luck when I started teaching myself how to throw knives."

Baron shuddered like Lord Maliss had warned him against letting Haru touch a fire poker.

'_So much for letting him leave the castle with a good opinion of me,' _she thought a little smugly. There wasn't much she could do in the way of revenge, so she had to take pleasure in what little she could.

"Perhaps you're not looking hard enough," Baron tried again with a smile that was on the edge of his nerves. He was even forgetting to run his fingers over the lute strings.

Funny that his cane wasn't around today. He always brought it for reading lessons.

"He let me search the castle," Haru stressed, only now rocking back and forth on the edge of her seat as if it was going to be any help. "I'm sure there's a rule I hadn't thought of yet that he's waiting for me to trip over. Maybe it was in one of those 'lady' lessons Mother didn't have the chance to overhear and pass down to me," she added almost as an afterthought.

He blinked in surprise, like the thought had never occurred to him. "… That… is an interesting notion, Haru. I hope you will not object if I were to offer you some reading material that could help?"

Haru couldn't resist a harsh laugh as she kept her eyes downcast and rocking slightly in her seat. "Right. Lord Maliss would _never_ think to search the library for information that might help a bride escape his tyranny before he's finished making her miserable. I'm one hundred and thirteen, Baron. He's probably picked the library clean of anything useful to me."

"You're assuming that he'll recognize it as useful," he pointed out while picking out a new melody. "Why don't we find out more about your singing voice? I'll have time to sift through the library afterward."

Haru blinked before looking over at him with confusion. "I thought you had to go straight back to your cell after a lesson."

Baron barely had the time to blink. "He's relaxed his hold on me a little. I have no interest in confronting the horned wolves without a proper weapon-"

"I could take you to the armory," Haru offered in a heartbeat, even standing up and walking toward the door.

"I was never that skilled at combat, besides," Baron hastily added with a pained smile. "After all, would Lord Maliss have actually brought a threat within his walls?"

'_Didn't Mirror say he considers __**me **__a threat?' _Haru couldn't resist smiling at the thought, even if the Looking Glass's faith was misplaced. She forced herself to return to her seat while pouting a little. "That depends on how badly he wanted amusement. There's almost nothing I'd put past him doing for the sake of laughing at someone else."

Baron's mouth and left eyebrow twitched like he had a comeback for that. But for once, he was the one that instigated the lesson instead of inventing new things to talk about.

_**Night Twenty-Two**_

It had taken all of Haru's willpower to act completely natural at dinner with her husband the next night. Lord Maliss was watching her, as usual, but she was keeping one eye on him so he wouldn't pull another prank on her, and the other on her plate. _'At least I have __**this **__going all right. This marriage would be too much to cope with if the food was as rotten as the sorry excuse of a husband.'_

"How are the lessons coming along?" he asked after the silence had stretched on too long for his taste. He was rubbing his staff with his thumb as if itching for an excuse to use it.

"Baron says he's been reporting to you every night," Haru replied before sipping her water before returning her attention to a strange savory egg pie.

The lord's grip on the staff became tighter still. "What about Baron himself? He's been behaving the way I told you he would?"

"He's been a perfect gentleman," Haru assured him, putting a certain coldness in her tone that screamed, 'which is more than I can say for you'.

His eyebrow twitched, clearly indicating that he had received the nonverbal insult. He stood up slow and menacing from his chair, his dark eyes trying to pierce her very soul. "As soon as my scheme is concluded, I'll show you how much of a gentleman _**I **_can be when I put my mind to it."

His real meaning was hard to mistake. Every inch of Haru's flesh shuddered from the blatant implication. Her stomach churned with the need to empty itself, but she held one hand to her waist in an attempt to settle it.

No matter how tempting it was to throw up on the creep, it probably wasn't going to be worth the 'punishment' he'd extract from her.

Lord Maliss leered at her before stealing a kiss from her recoiling cheek again. "I'd take care of it now, but I don't want to be rushed when the place and time are right. You wouldn't want to be disappointed after all the anticipation, would you?" he prodded while lingeringly brushing his free hand over her arm that was closest to him.

It was the same way he would have caressed the dragon staff that was always at his side. A prized possession, and nothing more.

'_You are worse than a disappointment,' _Haru longed to say, but didn't dare as she tried to maneuver in her chair enough to keep him from being so touchy. The longer she stayed in this castle, the more prone the wizard was to stealing kisses and cheap grabs from her for insults he used to laugh off with that irritating smirk of his.

Lord Maliss seemed angry that she didn't rise to his bait again, but at least he stopped looming over her. He stalked to the large doors leaving the dining hall, muttering something under his breath that she couldn't quite catch.

Haru let him leave first, keeping her eyes on her pie as the slowly softening clicking of her husband's staff reminded her that her time was running out.

Everything seemed to remind her of the fact that she was going to die soon. If forced to be honest, Haru was more than a little surprised that she had lived to the third night, never mind the third week and counting.

'_What I'd give for a __**real **__rescuer to come any day,' _she thought wistfully, pushing her plate away to signal she was done eating as well.

Brick almost materialized behind her to help ease the heavy chair away from the table. He didn't say anything, but he was trying to give her a smile that did little to comfort her.

The thought of a real rescuer cheered her up a little, even though she couldn't quite return Brick's smile before also leaving the table. It brought her back to the fact that before Lord Maliss made his announcement, she had spent dinner trying desperately not to think about any reading Baron had recommended to her.

Just how many more nights did she have to walk these dusty hallways alone? Two? Three? How long did it actually take for Lord Maliss to get bored with a wife after claiming her before he opened the vacancy again?

She'd fight him, of course. That went without saying. She just knew that if he had made up his mind, it wouldn't mean a thing. If all else failed, he could just paralyze her with that red light again. One hundred and thirteen brides… he probably had that part of 'marriage' down to a demonic art form.

Baron looked up from his lute when she finally managed to drag herself into the music room. "So there you are!" he exclaimed with some relief. "I was considering sending out a search party for you."

Haru looked up at him, still holding her own arms around herself for comfort that wasn't going to come from anywhere else. "I have good news for you. You'll either be heading home or getting killed before another week is gone."

Baron cocked his head at her in confusion. "The scheme doesn't seem to be so far along."

Haru dragged herself to the chair and sagged into it in sheer depression. "It barely matters. Either he'll speed it up or give up on it completely. He's… made plans after his scheme's over, and he's getting impatient."

Baron cocked an eyebrow next.

"Don't ask," she ordered darkly before making an attempt to shake off her inevitable fate. "To get straight to the point, I did read through the passages in the books you marked for me yesterday. Uh, I mean 'yesternight'. Stayed up earlier than I should have, but I did read all of it. Thank you for collecting all that for me."

He immediately brightened at the praise. "I was hoping all of that would help answer some questions."

Haru managed a harsh giggle, not at all like the one she had been planning to give him. "I really needed the laughs it gave me, I can tell you that much."

That made Baron lower his lute uncertainly. "Laughs?"

Haru could only hold her gloved hands to her forehead. "Out of all the things to waste paper for a book, why on earth did someone take the time to make a handbook for damsels in distress? _Multiple _handbooks?! I bet _**I **_could find something better to write about! Whoever wrote them has clearly never been a damsel!"

"Th-those books are required reading for most women of a certain rank or with expectations of marrying into that rank," Baron explained, letting his lute rest across his lap so that he could give Haru his full and slightly angry attention.

Haru scoffed in disgust, rising from her seat. "Watch this." She stalked over to a tall window over a window seat, knelt in front of that window seat, and crossed her wrists over the cushion so that it could support her head when she began wistfully gazing out the window as if hoping a rescuer would appear over the horizon at any moment. She experimentally kicked one leg to the side to make her long skirt flare out in a dramatic wave across the rose-colored carpet, strongly suspecting that some over-romantic painter would want to capture her always looking just like this if one were around to see her.

"The books recommend I hold this pose for anywhere between two to five hours a day," she managed to say from the side of her mouth.

"You do it very well," Baron complimented her, making her swiftly turn her head enough to glare at him.

"That's not the point, Baron. What does it accomplish? And the chapters on 'suitable rewards!" Haru fumed while standing up to take her regular seat again. "Let's see those authors get harassed by Lord Maliss for almost a month, and _then _try to explain why I should be completely fine with kissing some stranger on sight if he gets in a lucky kill!" _'Though this does explain why that one knight got so frustrated with me for not falling for his elaborate ruse.'_ Haru couldn't help it. She started rubbing at her exposed throat and shoulder with revulsion.

The scabs had fallen off by now, leaving thin white marks on her flesh as an ugly reminder of what had happened. The first one on her lower lip had also come off by now, but Haru had a new one on her lip to replace that one. All thanks to a husband that didn't know how to be gentle, or how to respect when a wife wanted nothing to do with him.

"Well, he _is _risking his life to save yours. If one were to attempt rescuing you, that is," Baron added hastily when Haru snuck another glare at him.

"You've never been kissed against your will before, have you?" she asked directly.

He raised both of his gloved hands as if to keep her from becoming violent. He opened his mouth to speak, but then found he couldn't.

"You're bigger and stronger than most women you're likely to meet," Haru pointed out while folding her arms with disapproval. "Even if a girl forced a kiss on you, I'm willing to bet my left arm that you can fight a girl off easier than I can fight off Lord Maliss if they're given identical advantages. You don't know what it's like to have no control over your own future or even right now and be completely afraid because you don't know what's going to happen thanks to someone else being a selfish brat. Not to the degree I have to deal with, that is. No matter what some stranger might have to do to rescue me, a good man would understand why I'd be a lot more interested in finding somewhere I can just raise a garden and maybe a pack of cats for company. If I ever managed to get away from Lord Maliss, that is," she sighed in mourning while leaning back against her seat.

"Now that I've tried being married, I have enough authority to say that I don't like it at all. Are you married?" Haru suddenly asked, realizing that was something they hadn't really addressed.

Baron still seemed a little afraid of her, but he was at least willing to answer the question. "The one I loved met with a horrible accident before I had the chance to propose."

"_Oh._" Haru felt a bit guilty about blowing up at him. "… What was she like?"

A distant smile of fondness crossed his lips as he reminisced. "Strong-willed. Intelligent. Beautiful as the stars."

Haru felt even worse. "I'm sorry," she offered a little lamely, not able to think of anything else to say as she nervously played with a fold in her long blue skirt.

Baron shook his head slightly and gave her a shy smile. "But I will say that it's terribly unfair of you to judge all men by Lord Maliss."

"If life were fair, we wouldn't have met," she reminded him, gesturing with one hand at the music room, and the castle by extension.

Baron sighed in agreement. "Then there's that to recommend for unfairness."

Haru blushed. _'He couldn't have thought his way through saying that.' _"We might as well get on with the lesson," she said quickly with a nervous smile to distract him. "Maliss will probably complain and do worse than complain if we have to confess that we spent more time talking than anything else."

Baron started as if he had forgotten that was the reason he was getting to spend so much time with her. But that didn't stop him from pouting when he adjusted his lute for her sake.

_**Night Twenty-Four**_

Baron was smiling two nights later. "That was much better," he assured her before returning to the start of the song. "Let's go through it again."

Haru held up one finger to call a halt so that she could drink some water that she had asked to be brought into the music room for both of their benefits. "Would you like a glass, Baron?"

"If you would be so kind," he responded, stopping the song for now with a pout. "I do wish you would give my tea a chance. I have a variation that would help your throat a great deal more than mere water."

"I've already explained my reasons." Haru tried to keep her fingers where he wouldn't have to touch them, but Baron still managed to brush his gloved hand over hers while taking the simple goblet.

Dang it, her face was growing warm again. Feeling a little grateful that she had poured him a glass first, Haru used the excuse to turn her back on him while pouring one for herself and drink it while facing away from him and wishing that the pounding amulet would stop giving her emotions away.

'_Stop acting like an idiot, Haru!' _Once her own goblet was drained, she turned to look at her friend. "Can we just sit in silence for a while? My throat would appreciate it."

His brilliant green eyes glowed warmly as he lowered his goblet to answer her. "Certainly." Not that it stopped him from continuing to play his lute in a minor key, just for her.

Haru set both of their goblets back on the silver platter with the pitcher before returning to her usual seat. She didn't use it for the lessons, since standing upright seemed to do wonders for her breathing. But for now, it was enough to just sit and listen to Baron's song.

A rebellious corner of her mind tried to say that Lord Maliss was just a bad dream, and that she was here with her real husband right now. A corner of Haru's lip tried to curl into a smile at the thought.

'_Like Baron would have noticed me without Lord Maliss. Unbiased or not, he deserves a real lady.'_

Still, it was too bad that all of her time here couldn't be as peaceful as right now. No sneering wizard, no so-called rescuers intruding themselves into her life…

Haru blinked at the thought. _'That's right. I haven't had a 'rescuer' since meeting Mirror!' _Then again, she hadn't really been left alone since then. She thought carefully over every meeting, realizing that they only happened when she was alone, without so much as a servant around the bend. _'The cowards,' _she thought furiously. As if trying to 'get the prize' before slaying the dragon wasn't bad enough, those self-absorbed jerks had done their best to make sure there would be no witnesses. Probably to keep word of what they were up to from Lord Maliss, who would absolutely have them slowly turning over a firepit before they even knew he'd stuck a spear through them.

She didn't miss them, but it was a little strange that they just weren't bothering her anymore. One would have thought that seeing Baron with her would have made at least one challenge him for the right to 'rescue' Haru.

Then again, she had met more than one on a single night. Was it part of some hero code not to move in while another is in the middle of a rescue? It would have been a little funny if any two of those men had run across each other and tried to decide which of them got to do the honors. Since Haru seemed to be the focus of their efforts, they couldn't really split the 'reward'.

Haru suddenly looked up from thought and squarely at Baron, her mouth hanging open a little.

The action had been so unexpected that her tutor broke off playing his lute. "Is something wrong, Haru?"

She answered by bursting out laughing. There was a tinge of disgust to the action thanks to the implication that Maliss could probably watch her bathe and dress, but the newly formed idea still held a lot of appeal to her.

It would explain why he hated her fire poker so much.

"What on earth has gotten into you?" Baron demanded while lowering his lute.

Haru tried to stop laughing, but only with minimal success. "It… was never… about the lessons!"

He froze, but kept his mouth shut to see where her thoughts were leading this time.

"Maliss knows about the rescuers! _That's _why he was acting like I was going to kill you at first!" Grateful that her chair was next to a larger instrument, she leaned against it when her head started swimming from lack of air. "He… he doesn't care about the lessons! It's about keeping other men away from me and me from mischief! He doesn't want me doing anything like swinging from the chandelier the moment his back is-" Haru cut herself off with a wicked gleam in her eye.

Baron caught that look, and let the lute fall to the ground in his effort to throw himself in front of the door before she got to it. He spread his arms wide open and his legs apart to block her obvious route. "Don't even think about it," he begged.

"Too late," she answered sweetly while leaving the chair and heading for the large window framing the half-full moon.

"You can't go out that way," Baron chided in desperation as she slid it open and stuck the top part of her body out to check, just in case.

Haru couldn't resist the urge to pout as she surveyed the surrounding stonework. "Not even a decent ledge from here. Too bad the amulet will throw me back in if I chance climbing the stone walls-"

Firm hands were now gripping her around the waist, pulling her back into the room without warning or permission.

"**Baron**!" she fumed angrily, reaching back one fist to make a swing.

He immediately let go and closed the window back up, almost pinning his body against the window seat to try putting distance between them again. "I know you don't care much for your husband, Haru," he flat out admitted, putting just a hint of an emphasis on the word 'husband'. "But I'm going to have to ask you to behave for my sake. What do you think Lord Maliss will do to me if he catches you doing something so…" the tawny lord frantically struggled for the right word.

"Unexpected?" Haru offered flatly. "Unladylike? Crude?"

"Yes to all," he readily agreed, relieved that she had at least calmed down enough to understand what she had been planning to do.

Haru's shoulders sank with depression. "This is just proving me right, you know. You're just one more leash on me, and the lessons are only for filling up our time to keep me out of trouble."

Baron's eyes darted nervously as he tried to think of something to say.

"But this does explain why he was so insistent that I didn't need to protect myself from you," Haru continued conversationally, realizing just why he was so certain that she didn't need weapons. "He probably has a way to watch what I'm up to when he's working on his scheme, so he'd probably intervene even if you tried anything with me." _'He was out of the castle the first time I talked to Mirror, and recovering from an injury the second time. That has to be why he hasn't punished me for it.'_

Baron looked horrified, like that was the last thing he wanted her to figure out.

Haru threw her hands up in grudging defeat. "Oh well. As long as he didn't specifically kidnap you to be my nanny."

"H-He didn't," he forced himself to spit out, though his expression was turning into rage.

Haru managed a weak smile for him. "I've lost my enthusiasm for tonight's lesson. I'll be able to learn better tomorrow evening." She nearly marched past him towards the door before remembering a little business that needed to be addressed.

"Oh. One more thing." While her tutor was still in range, Haru swiftly turned and punched Baron in the forearm.

"Ow!" Baron yelped, jumping back and gripping the sore spot while giving her a furious look.

But Haru was past caring by now. "_That _was a friendly reminder to keep your hands to yourself. I'm surprised Lord Maliss didn't tell you what I do when I stop being friendly. There _is _a reason he never bothered to step in with a rescuer for me." Giving him a curt nod, she let herself out of the music room.

'_Lord Maliss must have been laughing his head off about those rescuers.'_

ooOoo

Baron wasted no time rematerializing in the wine cellar, letting an animalistic scream escape his throat as the lute in his hand regained its normal shape of a dragon staff. "What am I going to _do _with that wench?!"

After his staff was done reforming, Baron began shifting back into Lord Maliss so that he could begin pacing the cellar like a madman. He tried to tell himself that he was only looking for a vintage he hadn't tried yet, but he was too enraged to focus on his second favorite pleasure. "This is too much effort to just get one woman! No matter what I do or what face I wear, she finds a new reason to avoid me!"

_It's almost like you should have left her where you found her, _one of the voices informed him smugly.

"Oh, no you don't," Maliss snarled, grabbing a chill wine bottle at random and holding it against where his wife had punched him to help with the ache. The bruise by itself wasn't worth a healing spell, but he could always include it when he woke up with the inevitable hangover in just a few short hours. "If I…" He stopped and shook his head at his own uncertainty. "_When _I catch this one, I'll know for sure I can catch any woman."

**Big words for someone that already claimed he could.**

"Shut up! All of you!" Lord Maliss demanded while one hand distractedly tried to uncork the bottle without his eyes to guide it. "How can any of you _claim _that this is how to win over a woman?! She won't touch me without leaving a painful mark, and she barely forces herself to endure little touches over a goblet!"

_It's called 'shyness'. Haru is probably the definition for it, since it took her eight years to say more than 'hi' to Machida._

"She wasn't all that shy when she started carrying that fire poker everywhere," Maliss growled, finally working the stopper free so that he could drain half of the bottle in one go. _'When was the last time a single bride made me come down here more than once?'_

_**I find her attachment to the poker completely charming. Such a shame she hasn't used it on you.**_

_**Yet. Give her time, Maliss is bound to mess up badly enough to give her the opening!**_

Lord Maliss growled in exasperation at the constant stream of chatter that he could never truly silence. "Just how _does _one win over a shy woman?"

Carefully. Push her too hard, and you get thrown off the balcony again. Push her too little, and… well, it would be safer to let her take the lead, or at least wait until she gives you a **real **signal that she wants to move forward.

_That's right, none of her innocent comments that you take advantage of. If a woman wants you, she'll make sure you know._

**I'm only talking to be part of the conversation!**

"But this is taking _forever_!" the wizard howled in frustration. "I **know **she likes Baron, but she won't do anything about it! Why on earth do all of you think that this is the ideal way to catch a woman when the payback isn't going to be enough to compensate for the time and effort I've been putting out?!"

**Idiot. If you do it right, you only **_**need**_** to do it once.**

Maliss blinked as a series of images flashed behind his eyes. Images that he rarely let himself have the time to acknowledge happened in mere ordinary lives.

That sort of thing had never appealed to him, and he was glad of it. The near endless parade of wives he'd had over the years had proven to him that he had been wise to cut each marriage short while the novelty was still fresh. He just hadn't seen the point to keeping a wife around after each new win. He wanted fun, not a nag.

But Haru was different. From her first night in his castle, she had found ways to surprise him.

_You _**idiot**! _You've given him an idea!_

Maliss set the cold wine bottle against the aching part of his arm in order to think things over. Haru had a good point when she brought up how much hassle it was for him to go looking for a new bride, though not as often as she thought and not for the reason she later confessed to one of his other faces.

There were still plenty of noble women to have kept him happily playing the game for at least a few more years before needing to branch out to the peasantry, but after growing up with his sister, he was accustomed to a bare minimum of certain attractiveness in a female companion. After all, his usual methods of winning a bride's favor required flattery, and he knew he wouldn't have been able to mouth the words for a wretch with nothing to recommend her but her bloodline.

It was about the only thing Haru did not have, but he couldn't find himself even a little bothered by the fact. If she would stop bringing it up, Maliss was certain that he would have completely forgotten by now that she was of common stock. It was only recently that flattery started working on Haru, and even then, her usual reaction was looking away or putting a little more distance between them.

She was a difficult one, there was no denying that. But if he were to end his normal routine, wouldn't it be fitting for the game to end on such a triumph as winning _this _one over?

If he were to consider giving up the game, it went without saying that he'd still want a wife. This castle was far too big to cater to him alone, and it would be too depressing to only have the monsters to talk to. Besides, he enjoyed the secondary game of matching wits with one or another young lovely.

At least, most of the time he enjoyed it. Under normal circumstances, he could predict within three tries what any bride would bend for after one dinner conversation, since those usually revolved around a bride informing him of all the qualities he lacked to be a proper husband for her. In fact, he was still convinced that Haru would have found one to her liking much sooner if she hadn't needed to be forced into talking with a handsome youth beyond insults and pointing out details that any highborn lady would have overlooked in her joy of escaping the wizard's tyranny.

But once he showed Haru once and for all that she played by his rules no matter what, things were certain to quiet down a little. Not too much, since her mind was too sharp to simply start behaving like a well-behaved and devoted wife, but at least she would stop coming up with notions like swinging from a chandelier and throwing herself off a balcony just to see if she _could_.

Then he thought about the inevitable step after catching her. His lips curled into a cruel smile as he vividly imagined Haru in the coziest chair of the royal apartments, nursing a baby with his dark hair and pale complexion by the light of the fireplace. Her spirit wasn't completely broken, but there was a certain amount of acceptance in her fair features.

That was what decided things for him. Haru had been far too accepting of her death, even from the beginning. Oh, the lovely screaming fit she'll give him when she realizes that he had much, _much _better plans for her than any of his usual methods of disposal once he caught his current prize!

The despaired groaning from the voices in his head only confirmed what he instinctively knew was the best way to make Haru pay for every scratch, bruise, and hangover he'd received since carrying her to his home. Even the earache he had received from all the screaming she did after he took her from the meadow had gone on longer than a highborn, yet he strangely didn't mind adding that to the list of things she **would** make up to him for the years to come.

Lord Maliss gave a regretful look at the half-full wine bottle. "To be continued," he informed it, setting the glass bottle on his favorite drinking table before using the materialization spell to reform in his personal quarters, formerly the royal apartments.

He still felt like getting good and drunk over the most recent setback, but he needed to set things in motion before letting himself enjoy his quieter pleasure.

The large mirror in his rooms wasn't as powerful as the one in the chamber behind the maze spell, but it could show him what he wanted without any of the back talk, which suited him just fine. He set the dragon head against the non-sentient glass and whispered the spying spell while thinking of his troublesome wife.

_Haru was sitting in her favorite chair by the fire, much like she had in his private fantasy. The only real difference was that she was cradling a book in her hands instead of their firstborn, and her large brown eyes were completely absorbed in the pages. To no one's surprise, her favorite poker was resting slightly against one of her legs, ready if any trouble were to come. Her ladies in waiting were performing little duties around her chambers, looking more relaxed and happy than the wizard had ever seen them before._

Not that he cared. Lord Maliss twisted his staff slightly, summoning the power to briefly speak directly into the monsters' minds. "_I want the pair of you to report to my rooms immediately. Make up whatever excuse you have to._"

_Both the purple bird and blue frog jumped in fright at the command, making Haru look up as if startled from a dream._

"_Is something wrong?" she asked with concern, even as the two ladies in waiting rushed for the door. _

"_We were supposed to help in the kitchens tonight!" the red head of the purple bird exclaimed apologetically, offering a hasty smile before slamming the door behind them._

_Haru seemed confused but shrugged it off to return to her book without comment._

Maliss grinned with satisfaction, even as he took the excuse to really look over his pretty little wife.

She was strong, she was stubborn, and she had a gift for creative problem-solving. Combined with his magic and experience, their children would _really _be able to turn this world to their own devices.

He could hardly wait to begin their magic lessons.

Lord Maliss forced himself to stop spying on the future mother of his children and used his staff to drag a high back chair directly in front of the door to his chambers. Although it had nothing on the long-vacated throne down below, he still sat in it as a king, one hand lazily holding his head up as he held his staff perfectly erect as a silent warning to all.

Before long, there was a nervous knock on his door.

"Enter," he commanded, using his years of practice to ensure his usual attitude of detached interest to mask his growing excitement.

The two ladies in waiting hesitantly slipped through the door to stand ready for his orders with terrified expressions.

"I have a _special _task in mind for the pair of you," he sneered maliciously. "Some things require a woman's touch, and I'm afraid that I can't risk my wife finding out about it just yet. We wouldn't want to distress my lady, now would we?"

"No, my lord," they responded in perfect unison, just like they had been trained to.

Maliss laughed before standing up. He walked a bit closer and leaned over the pair of female monsters with his familiar sneer, making them tremble with fear. "Don't be coy. Both of you _like _my current wife. She likes you, you know."

He had heard that from her own lips when she was talking to the Looking Glass.

"She does?!" the blonde head of the purple bird exclaimed happily. "All of us?"

'_Except me.' _But Lord Maliss would have time to change that. Not even a woman could stay angry forever, and he knew ways to make Haru deliriously happy to be his chosen and beloved once their final barrier was broken.

He pointed at a door in the corner of his chambers that he had only walked through once, a little after claiming this castle as his own. "You are all familiar with the room through that door, aren't you?"

The frog monster shook, though her head was more intentional than the rest of her. "No, my lord. This is the first time we've entered the royal suite."

Maliss couldn't get angry with them over that. He could barely even stand for the servants to be in his private quarters long enough to switch out the linens, prepare baths and build his fire. "That door leads to the royal nursery. From now on, whenever you are not waiting on my lady or she doesn't need your help, you are to make that nursery habitable again." He grinned wickedly at the imagined number of children Haru was going to give him to compensate for the trouble she was currently giving him. "I assure you there will be occupants before long." _'One way or another.'_

_**Night Twenty-Five**_

"No lessons today," Blondie announced happily as she finished combing through Haru's straight brown hair.

Haru blinked in surprise while looking slightly behind her. "What?"

Red confirmed her sister's words while setting the circlet in place. "No lessons, and Maliss ordered a light dinner to be sent up to you. He needs Baron for tonight."

"Oh," Haru said with a bit of disappointment, looking down at her lap. "That means we can skip the makeup, right?"

"Right," Agnes assured her while setting a fresh set of books next to the usual chair before building up the fireplace a little. "I hate to leave you alone, my lady, but we got punished for forgetting our kitchen duties by getting more of them. Will you be all right if we left you alone until dawn?"

Despite how depressed Haru suddenly felt, she eyed the stack of new books appreciatively. "I'm sure I'll be just fine. I'm sorry the three of you got in trouble."

"It's not so bad," Blondie assured her, stealing a hug and rubbing her long purple beak against Haru's cheek affectionately. "I _love _to bake!"

"We'd better hurry. Have a pleasant evening, my lady," Red wished her, almost dragging her sister along for the ride as they and Agnes left her large room.

Haru sighed and made sure that her usual poker was within easy reach before settling herself into her favorite cushioned chair, wrapped a shawl over her shoulders against the weather that was turning chillier by the night, and reached for the first book.

Despite her usual enthusiasm for it, she couldn't read a thing tonight. It just didn't feel right to skip to this part of the evening without matching wits with Lord Maliss at dinner and Baron over lessons.

She could have lived happily without ever speaking to or even looking at Lord Maliss again, but Baron was definitely a different story.

Haru blinked at her own thoughts and shook her head almost violently. _'Oh, no you don't. Don't you even dare. You __**know **__what Lord Maliss would do to both of you if he found out you even thought about thinking it!'_

Then again, he probably would have killed her long before now if he was able to see into her mind. But that didn't change the fact that she was stumbling into dangerous territory.

She gave out a harsh bark of a laugh while leaning against the back of the chair, letting the fireplace share its warmth with her. _'I've __**been **__in dangerous territory ever since I was stupid enough to step into that meadow. A sprained ankle wouldn't have been so bad, even if it would have put me in danger of watching Machida's wedding after all.'_

That seemed like such a little thing now. But why she was here was no longer important; the simple fact is that she _was _here for the time being, and there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispering that this was a way out.

Haru shook her head again while blushing as red as an apple. Her lips opened to speak her thoughts aloud, and she had to swiftly shut them again in case a spy was listening, or Lord Maliss just enjoyed keeping an eye on her while working on his scheme.

'_See? __**This **__is the kind of danger being around Baron puts me in! Not only is he making it easier for me to speak my mind, I'm putting him at risk of getting killed by Lord Maliss! Getting myself killed is no big deal, but dragging someone along with me?'_

Her breath started coming out short and haggard even as she continued to blush furiously.

It didn't matter that she would never be able to approach him for what most people would call 'cheating'. Even a stolen kiss with someone she'd much rather share one with would be likely to set off her 'husband' since he's wanted a willing one since her first night here.

But that wasn't fair to Baron. How much did she actually like him if she was willing to get him killed, just to end her own misery? Her mother would be so disappointed in her.

It was all just so unfair. Lord Maliss never extracted any promises of loyalty or obedience out of her when he forced this marriage onto her throat, but it went without saying that he'd hold her to the normal rules of marriage all the same. At this point, he'd probably enjoy punishing her for cheating on him so that he could find some new victim to make completely miserable.

Thanks to shifting around in the chair, her poker clanged loudly against the stone floor.

"_Dang it_," she whispered under her breath while trying not to cry.

_**Night Twenty-Six**_

Baron looked up at her with his usual charming smile when she entered the music room the following evening. "I hope you will forgive me for missing yesternight, Haru, but-"

She held up a hand to stop him, secretly hating herself for what she was about to do. She gave a nervous look around the room, wondering if her unwanted husband had a spy following her or maybe Mirror.

Haru didn't have it in her to be angry at Mirror if he was helping the wizard. She was pretty certain that it wasn't an accident that a blunt, spiky weapon was kept in the same room with the priceless treasure.

She looked at the larger instrument that she had used to brace herself through a laughing frenzy two nights ago. "_Can you play that?_" she asked in a barely heard whisper.

Baron gave it a glance and nodded with a curious expression.

"_Do it. Play as loud as you can,_" she urged him, hoping that whatever noise he could produce would be enough to drown out what **had **to pass between them before she landed them into even worse trouble.

He seemed even more puzzled by her request, but he still stood up from his usual chair to sit himself on the polished bench and roll back a wooden plank covering a long row of gleaming white and black teeth. Setting the lute next to him on the bench, he began a new song that she had never heard before.

Haru was surprised that the instrument could get **that **loud but shook it off so that she could tend to business. Walking up behind him, she had to force herself to bend over enough so that her face was mere inches from his right ear.

"I need you to tell Lord Maliss that I caught the message. He won't believe it from me." It had been nearly the only thing ensuring her grave silence at dinner mere moments before.

Baron stopped playing so that he could turn around and look at her with a mixture of shock and confusion.

Haru swiftly stood to her full height since she had felt his strangely minty breath on her face. "_Keep playing,_" she mouthed more than whispered, knowing that this would probably be the last time she saw him.

"Why don't you explain that comment first?" he insisted in a low, level tone, turning a bit in his seat to make keeping his amazing green eyes on her a little easier.

Haru miserably waved a finger at the teeth. "_Can we __**please **__keep this between us?_" she almost begged. "_I don't want him to find out I talked to you like this."_

Baron clearly didn't want to, but he managed to keep his eyes on her as his fingers returned to the teeth to start the same song as before, but it seemed angrier than before.

Haru took in a deep breath, wishing that she were braver than this. She had known as soon as she laid eyes on Machida that she wanted to marry him, and it had taken eight years to say more than 'hi' if she could so much as guess that he was within earshot.

'_Baron's life is at stake. He'll understand.' _She leaned down to speak softly near his ear again to explain herself. "He wanted you to be an extra leash on me. Fine, you're one more reason I have to be careful about crossing him. I never bothered to hide from him that if he were to randomly burst into flame, my knee-jerk reaction would be to go find extra firewood."

For some strange reason, that made Baron flinch enough to put a stutter into his music.

"I've already figured out that these lessons are mostly to keep me out of trouble, and I'm sure you've made sure that he knows I know about that if he didn't witness it for himself." Haru had to breathe in and out deeply at this next part, and even resorted to stomping on her own foot to add that much more iron to her will. "There won't be any more lessons."

Instead of stopping, that made Baron's hands slam down on the keys in an angry racket that could have been the equivalent of a cat getting its tail stomped on.

Haru jumped back, although she had already known he wouldn't like the notion. This castle was a dreadfully lonely place without a friendly soul to really talk to.

He stood up to his full height, one head taller than her, and quite nearly kicked the bench between them out of the way.

"My space, Baron," she reminded him nervously while backing up a good five paces.

"I think I deserve an explanation for that last comment," he informed her coldly. "Were you really all that offended by my putting my hands on you? I only did it to keep you from doing something foolish, you know."

Haru gave out a small breath that might have been a laugh. "I already forgot about that, to be honest. I'm the problem here, not you."

That thankfully took enough of his anger for him to cock his head as if to say, 'I'm all ears.'

'_I really, __**really **__wish I didn't have to come out and say it.' _She took in another breath, even though her lungs felt like they were turning to stone. "Because… if I… keep seeing you, you're going to get hurt. It will be gruesome, and it will be my fault. If I stay in my room and behave myself, Lord Maliss won't kill you." _'At least over me. I just wish there was more I could do."_

The rest of his anger disappeared. So did the confusion, but Haru strangely found the hope in his eyes even more painful.

"… Are you trying to say that you _care_ for me?" he asked as if just now understanding why she needed to be so secretive.

Haru gave a loud growl of frustration, reaching for the nearest instrument she could conveniently throw.

"No, Haru, those are expensive!" he tried not to panic while swiftly retreating to the other side of the large instrument, taking his lute with him as if he was planning to use it for defense.

"What kind of question was _that_!" she demanded, holding the long reed-like instrument at the ready. "I'll care about almost anybody! Why else do you think I've been intentionally letting those 'rescuers' make a clean getaway instead of knocking them out or sending the guards or my sorry excuse of a husband after them?! Why else would I let Machida marry someone he liked better than me if I didn't care about him even more than I wanted to be with him?! I'm trying to save your life, you idiot! Just shut your mouth and be grateful that I care enough to let you get home to your loved ones!

Baron was surprised at her tirade, but he was still keeping a nervous eye on the raised instrument. "Is it customary for peasant women to threaten those they care for?"

"Are you _really _trying to tell me that highborn women don't throw things at men they get angry at?!" she snapped while raising her weapon a little higher and gauging the throw she'd need to make to hit him right on the head, including when he'd try to duck to avoid the hit. "I'm calling that bluff! Lord Maliss was more than ready when I tried to catch him by surprise!"

His green eyes were still incredibly nervous as they continually darted between the long black instrument in her hands like a club and her furious face. "Don't you think you're going a _little _overboard about this, Haru?" he pleaded with a weak smile.

She could barely believe he had bothered with such a stupid question. With another growl of frustration, she slammed the instrument back where she found it on a strangely clean table. "**One hundred and thirteen**, Baron. If you won't pass on my message, I'll just stay in my room from now on and you can do whatever you want during 'lesson time'. But you won't be seeing me again. Goodbye." With that, she started marching for the door while still fuming.

But before she reached it, Baron managed to rush past her and slam his back against the solid wood to keep her from leaving. "H-Haru?" he choked out. "Can I say something first?"

She crossed her arms in front of her while taking five steps backward to keep their distance. Her left thumb began tapping on her arm as she leveled a glare at him. "You'd better make it quick. Maliss could already know for all we know."

His lip tried to curl into a smile but didn't quite manage it. "I care about you too. A great deal," he added with a lot more ease than her confession.

'_Why now?!' _Haru couldn't keep her mind from screaming. _'Why now when it can't mean anything?!' _"Then you know why we can't see each other again."

"We don't have to do anything about it," he pleaded but she could only shake her head sadly.

"I only like you right now, Baron." Haru could hardly believe she had gotten brave enough to use 'like' instead of 'care'! "It will be less painful on both of us if we cut things off now rather than later. Trust me on this."

Baron took in a deep breath before trying again. "Your mind is set on this?"

She nodded miserably. "You're welcome for your life. Mine's been forfeit since Maliss learned I existed, but you could live past his scheme. Please move so I can leave."

Strangely, he almost seemed to stand more firmly than before, even though there was barely more to his movements than adjusting his muscles as if for combat. "Will you hate me if I ask a small favor from you first?"

Her eyebrow cocked in surprise. "That depends on the favor. But I'll listen."

That alone seemed to be a relief. He relaxed slightly, and almost turned into a shy little boy. "I know you've already made your stance clear about your idea of proper behavior concerning strangers that approach you. But… we're not strangers, are we?"

A tiny bell in the back of her mind started sounding. It was more a feeling than a logical guess, but Haru couldn't resist hoping that the feeling was wrong.

"Will you… I mean, will you permit me… to kiss you?" he nearly begged, using his beautiful green eyes for all he was worth.

Despite herself, Haru was tempted. It would have been nice to know what a kind kiss felt like after enduring more than her share of rough ones from a monster that never even tried to earn her affection before taking what he wanted.

Knowing her luck, the action would make the evil wizard almost materialize at the door, regardless of whether or not Baron barricaded it before taking her into his arms.

Haru breathed in one more time and forced herself to give the right answer, no matter how much she didn't want to say it.

"I think I could manage a short hug, but that's it."

His handsome face suddenly twisted into a grotesque mask of pure fury, and his eyes very literally changed from green to glowing red.

Haru inhaled sharply in sudden fright and increased the distance between them until she was up against the large instrument he had been playing only a few minutes before.

"A _hug?! _All that for a **short **_**hug?! **_There is just no **pleasing** you, is there?!" he raged at the top of his lungs while holding up the lute like he intended to use it for something other than music.

As soon as that lute began stretching to the floor like melted wax and turning the color of blood, Haru knew the truth.

"… _**Maliss**_?!" she tried not to gasp, holding both of her gloved hands to her mouth in complete shock.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?!" Baron demanded as he grew a head taller, and his rapidly lengthening golden hair darkened into the deepest of black. Even his light grey suit was turning blue and adjusting to a different style.

Haru turned her head away before she could see more of the transformation, tiredly stumbling towards the roaring fireplace that was raised slightly higher than she was used to from her village. The sparks danced as her mind scrambled to fit this information into everything else.

With horror, she realized that not only did it fit in perfectly, everything she had known or guessed immediately gave way to give this piece dominance.

"Every time you make me think I'm getting _anywhere _with you, you cut me off!" Lord Maliss yelled at her, as if he had the right to be the angry one in this situation. "I even got you to admit you liked me this time, and it _still _wasn't enough for you!"

That last part shamed her. The evil wizard had **never **deserved such kind words from anybody. Haru was standing at an angle between him and the fireplace, not taking her eyes off the licking flames as one log split in half and made a loud crunching sound as it collapsed from the middle, and yet kept burning. She couldn't help thinking that it was really her heart that was collapsing into an ashen heap.

The unsteady pulse of the amulet at her throat seemed to echo her heartbreak.

Baron wasn't real. None of the men that had been following her around had been real, but she could barely even waste a thought on them, because **Baron **wasn't real.

Nothing he had said or done had been real. All the memories of him joking or confiding in her hadn't meant a thing. Lord Maliss had just been executing the worst hypocritical joke in history.

The one rule she had thought too obvious to waste thought on had been the precise rule he wanted her to break. With _him_. Still, all that effort just to get a kiss? That didn't seem very likely, especially with how freely he took them whenever he really wanted one.

She could hear him take several calming breaths. He was planning something. It wasn't hard to guess what her punishment was going to be for refusing to play his twisted game, after all.

Haru let her fingers close around their intended target just before she turned her head more fully to the fireplace and closed her eyes. Two big hot tears escaped her control at the gesture and flowed down her cheeks, the only mourning she could allow herself before clearing her mind for what _had _to be done while she still had the chance.

That familiar tap of the staff against the floor was faster now, as if proclaiming once and for all that her time was up as he marched toward her. "Though I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear that no bride has ever given me as much trouble as you have." As expected, Lord Maliss was grabbing her arm again with that cold, steely grip as she took in a harsh breath and held it ready.

"But now that the game is over, it's high time we-" he started to say as he swung her around to face him, much the same way he had just after bringing her to his home.

Haru couldn't see it because her eyes were still shut, but she could feel his staff sharply collide with her wrist as she swung her weapon blindly at his head.

If it had been the poker, Lord Maliss would have been untouched. He could have done anything he pleased with Haru, and they both knew that it didn't matter how fond the monsters were of her; they wouldn't stop him. If any monsters had bothered to try, they were probably dead or worse by now. The ones that remained would have a new mistress in no time.

But Haru wasn't gripping the poker.

xxXxx

A/N: this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written. I wanted to break it into two chapters, but I had a theme with the beginning quotes, and it wouldn't have worked very well if I had split this.


	10. What I Deserve

_**Thirteen**_

**Chapter Ten: What I Deserve**

_I'm just asking for what I deserve._

_-Megan Marie_

**xxXxx**

Lady Gikkingen stared deeply into the night. She had been informed many times that this accomplished next to nothing, but she couldn't help herself.

"Aunt Elizabeth," her large nephew sighed as he pressed a kiss to her brow. "This will only make you sick, you know. We have watchers at all times, just like you asked." He then scowled angrily. "For all the good it does. It's getting late, why don't you retire?"

The proud woman barely shook her head as she continued to rub the sleeping tabby in her lap. "I will retire soon enough. Are we _certain _that he hasn't snuck another one past us? He's been moving faster this year, there could have easily been one we overlooked."

Renaldo sighed and made to close the curtains to the comfortable drawing room. "I hate to say it, but it's possible he did. He does have the invisibility spell to keep his prey from-"

The sky overhead boomed loudly with thunder that didn't seem to have a single direction.

Elizabeth gasped, struggling to her feet and sending the tabby reeling with a yowl of disapproval. Her heart was pounding wildly, but that didn't stop her from yanking the curtain open again.

There had only been some clouds to block out the stars and moon a mere second ago. But now there was a thick overcast that was rapidly changing to the color of blood as lightning crashed down from above with the same feeling as a child throwing a tantrum.

Renaldo wasted no time grabbing his aunt's teapot and pouring it into a large fern by the window. Instead of the amber color it had been a moment before, it was now thick and the color of old rust. "_When waters flow as though its bled,_" he whispered disbelievingly.

Lady Gikkingen couldn't stop the wild smile overtaking her face as she pressed gloved hands to the glass. "_And the skies change from blue to red, it's a sign to all._"

"_Maliss is dead!_" they both cheered, laughing as tears of relief flowed down both of their faces.

Despite her approaching years, the reluctant Baron von Gikkingen grabbed his aunt by the waist and swung her around like a young girl. "He's gone! Humbert's been avenged!"

"Ready the coach!" Elizabeth von Gikkingen ordered almost before her nephew was done speaking. "I _will _see the one responsible for this miracle!"

Renaldo nodded happily before pressing a kiss to her cheek and running from the room in order to start barking orders.

In all honesty, it was hard even for him to get anyone's attention. His cousin had been a favorite of all who knew him, and the poor man knew keenly that he was not much of a substitute for the one he had loved as a brother.

Elizabeth happily turned to look at those beautiful red clouds again. Not even the lightning could ruin this night for her.

ooOoo

It still felt like too long before Renaldo was helping her into a coach that servants had just finished loading down with blankets since the beloved woman had more and more trouble keeping her body heat as the years continued to creep on her.

A sharp whistling sound careened over the top of the Von Gikkingen manor. Most of the servants cowered out of fright, but the bolder ones followed their masters' example to search the heavens for the new threat.

It was a little hard to make out what it was, especially from this distance. But it was with relief that Lady Gikkingen noticed it was the completely wrong shape for that despised dragon that had been flying nearly past her house for thirteen years.

It almost reminded her of a dagger somersaulting through the air, but what dagger had six ends to it?

"Aunt Elizabeth? We won't be the only ones going," Renaldo gently reminded her, easing the woman into the carriage and bundling her up in blankets before signaling the driver, not bothering with banter for once.

Just as the family coachman was raising his whip to set the horses running, a new sound broke over the thunder that was growing steadily softer.

Elizabeth gasped again, this time in disbelief. She knew that sound better than any she had ever heard.

"_**Attention, everyone."**_

She and Renaldo looked at each other in complete shock as the servants outside the sturdy carriage began whispering, **knowing **that beloved voice.

"_**This is Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, speaking to you with the Looking Glass from the Realm of Doom. I don't entirely know if the whole world saw all the red clouds and were around water to notice the red tint, but I am happy to report that the reason it happened around the castle just now is the same as when it happened thirteen years ago. Just like his sister, Lord Maliss is finally and gloriously **__**dead**__**."**_

"Toto!" Lady Elizabeth cried out in agony, breaking the coachman out of his stupor and cracking his whip over the horses' heads.

They neighed like war horses as they took off running, slamming both Renaldo and his aunt against their seats with the sudden lurch.

But they didn't dare speak. They simply held onto the sides of the rapidly swaying coach with one hand and holding onto each other with the other as they desperately strained to hear above the standard noise that a coach makes as it barrels down a road and towards a land that had once been a kingdom.

"_**But before anyone starts getting ideas on who it was that delivered us all from his tyranny, I will take a moment to assure you that I was just as much a victim to his designs as his brides. In fact, it **__was __**a bride that led to his destruction. But that would be getting ahead of myself. For now, be content that I am not the hero I once prayed I was."**_

Elizabeth didn't care. Whoever the brave hero was, she'd embrace him like a son without a thought. Her beloved boy was _alive_! Granted, he sounded tired and worn, but those were minor difficulties compared to mourning her pride and joy since the beginning of the year.

"_**Almost all the world has heard of the rumor… yes, Haru, I know you didn't know about it, thank heaven. The rumor that the only way to kill Lord Maliss is with the head of his own staff. I'm ashamed to declare to the world that Lord Maliss specifically planted that rumor himself as a safety precaution in case he ever met his match in combat. His reasoning for doing so was that he placed a part of his soul and a great deal of his power in his staff. If someone were to get it away from him and hit him with it, his body would die, but his soul would get transferred to the one that killed him."**_

Elizabeth was beginning to see spots in front of her eyes from all the gasping her poor lungs were trying to keep up with.

"Humbert's been Lord Maliss all this time?" Renaldo choked in horror. "Then… all the girls after Princess Louise…"

"My poor boy," Elizabeth wept as the coach continued to race down a road that was steadily becoming rockier.

"_**I was not the only one to fall victim to his trap. There are other fallen heroes that would have defeated him long ago if they had just paid a little less attention to that ugly rumor. They deserve to be remembered, if not for what they came so close to accomplishing, than for the suffering we all had to endure even after Lord Maliss took over our bodies. The first to fall was Prince Florian of Swynol, to rescue his true love and the first of Lord Maliss's brides, Princess Snow White of the fallen kingdom of Neige. Next came Prince Ivan of Volk, who only wanted to bring his sister Olga home where she belonged. Prince Mytho of Cigno… I'll explain that in a moment, Haru. Please be patient."**_

Through her sorrow, Elizabeth blinked her tears away with confusion. That was the second time she'd heard the narrative broken off for that name. The latest bride?

"_**Prince Mytho of Cigno came next to rescue his betrothed, Princess Rue of Kraehe. Prince Ashitaka of Hloov came to rescue Princess Mononoke of Jilash, who incidentally held the title for most harm inflicted on Lord Maliss before this last one finished him off. … Maybe not to **_**you**_**¸ Haru, but it will always be worth mentioning to me. Back to the list, the plumber Mario then tried to rescue Princess Peach of Shitake, and General Marc Antony tried to rescue Queen Cleopatra of Agypten."**_

That wonderful voice paused again, as if listening to Haru say something.

"_**If you think they're a crowd coming off my lips, be grateful you didn't have to share Lord Maliss's diseased mind with them all. Speaking of diseased minds, I'm certain that more than one person will be dismayed that Sun Wukong the Monkey King is back and ready for mischief. He was more interested in bragging rights than in rescuing a damsel, and Lord Maliss considered him such an embarrassment… right I'm not at that part yet. But I will say that since Wukong is immortal, his body didn't die after Lord Maliss intentionally lost to Tack the Cobbler who came to rescue Princess Yum Yum of the Golden City of Baghdad. He was so disgusted with the Monkey King's body that Lord Maliss settled for entombing Wukong's body in the deepest cellar of the castle to try to make sure that he wouldn't rise again, but I have my doubts on whether the **__world __**would be enough to bury him in if he really wanted to break free. On the off-chance that anyone's already on their way to the castle, you don't have to fear from him." **_

At that, Humbert let out a small laugh that his mother immediately recognized as a desperate attempt to hold in the bulk of his mirth.

"_**He has some… ah, **_**business **_**he's been desperate to take care off back in Haru's village. I don't know how long it will take him to get there, but I wouldn't dream of spoiling the surprise for anyone. We'll have to watch their reactions when we're done with this, you know."**_

Another pause. Haru was speaking again, and whatever it was made her sweet boy laugh for real. It was such a warm, golden sound compared to the one he had offered for Wukong.

"_**Haru, I know I agreed to speak to the general populace of the planet so you wouldn't have to, but I hope you understand that you are depriving the world of your wit. Here, I'll stand on this side of the mirror. All I ask is that you keep making those lovely comments as you see fit."**_

There was a longer pause, and the only thing that kept it bearable was the road that hadn't been repaved or even used for thirteen years.

Elizabeth still found herself completely eager to hear her son's rescuer's voice. When it emerged, it was as tired and worn as her son's but with a certain sweetness that immediately made her feel possessive of the owner.

What the voice was informing her son, however, sealed the deal.

"_-my poker," _the lovely voice informed firmly.

"_**That suits me just fine, Haru. I have even more reasons than you to avoid physical contact, you realize." **_Humbert took in a deep breath and again took up the list. _**"Howl Pendragon of Galdur was the next victim, but not because Maliss had abducted his love, Sophie Hatter. **__**That **__**honor goes to the king of Galdur, who wanted Howl to challenge Maliss since he's an extremely gifted wizard in his own right. The king had a very young daughter, and was not much interested in allowing her to be taken by Lord Maliss when she grew up. Howl is a self-admitted coward, but I will grant him that his love for Sophie was all the encouragement he needed to challenge Maliss. Now **__that __**was a duel for the history books if anyone had been around to see it."**_

"_Wait just a minute there, Baron," _Haru interrupted while sounding furious. _"Did you say that someone other than Maliss abducted a poor girl, just to force some wizard into a showdown?!"_

"_**That is precisely correct. Lord Maliss was originally planning to use Sophie for the position of bride number one hundred and thirteen, but she had a nasty curse placed on her to make her look like an old woman. We both know Maliss was too shallow to put up with that."**_

"_King of Galdur! You let Sophie Hatter go __**this instant**__! That was cruel, unusual, and almost made you just as bad as that creep! He's gone, so you had better let her go before I march myself down to your kingdom and shove my poker up your-"_

"_**Haru! There are **_**children **_**listening to this!"**_

Toto could be heard laughing from his driver's seat. "Can we keep her, my lady?"

Despite how crudely the girl had spoken, Elizabeth couldn't help smiling fondly since the reason was of noble intention. But she didn't answer in favor of keeping up with the overcast conversation.

"_Look me in the eye and say that Howl wouldn't be grateful, Baron."_

"_**That's not the point, Haru. That was almost an international incident."**_

"_Forgive me for not really caring right now. I've been doing too much of that lately anyway, and I'm a little sensitive when it comes to being unjustly held a prisoner right now. Go on, who was next?"_

"_**Very well. Prince Lir of Taur then tried to rescue Lady Amalthea. He's not sure where she came from, but he was so bowled over by love at first sight that he didn't care enough to ask questions other than 'Can I be of service?' and such like that."**_

"_He sounds like Lord Maliss didn't give him justice."_

"_**He didn't give any of us justice. Contrary to common belief, Lord Maliss wasn't content with noble or royal blood alone. He was very firm about them being beautiful as well-don't even think about it!" **_ he suddenly barked.

"_Too late," _Haru replied without much interest.

"_**I **__**will **__**fight you over that issue, Haru. But we should save it for when there isn't a worldwide audience. Back to my point, he did his version of 'settling' for a general's daughter named Maria Posada from Mehhiko when there was a slightly longer waiting period for 'pretty enough' royals and nobles to come of age than he wanted to wait through, and he consoled himself that she was at least descended from nobility."**_

"_So much for me being the first peasant bride."_

"_**We both know there's a large difference between a general's daughter and a bagmaker's daughter. No offense, of course."**_

"_None taken. Continue."_

"_**Her childhood friend and admirer Manolo Sanchez came to rescue her, even though he was more comfortable with a guitar than with his twin swords."**_

"_Was he the one I refused to see the night…" _The following silence seemed almost traumatized.

"_**Yes, that was the one. We did try to tell Lord Maliss you were too… unwell for anything, but he was growing upset that you didn't seem to notice his other faces were interested in romance. I would like to give you Manolo's gratitude that you knew his song wasn't for you."**_

"_It was pretty obvious."_

"_**That song won over several brides."**_

"_**How**__?! You can't love someone you've never seen and never spoken to!"_

Elizabeth was starting to have certain doubts on that score. This Haru was _spirited_! Just a little refining on her manners, and Lady Gikkingen would be able to present her at court, no matter her common roots!

Humbert groaned heavily. _**"Believe me, he wishes more of those girls had thought of that. After him came Dirk the Daring who came to rescue Princess Daphne of Boble, and then myself for Princess Louise of Yrael."**_

There was a long, terrible silence after that.

"… _You know, when Maliss told me as you that she died in an accident, I didn't realize __**he **__was the accident."_

"_**I wanted to **__strangle__** him, Haru! That…**_**thing **_**using the death he caused to try to make you warm up to him while wearing **__**my **__**face!"**_

"_I took care of it, didn't I? If it helps, he really did look ridiculous right before I finished him off. To anyone that's getting confused, Lord Maliss used the appearances of the men he took over to try to win over whoever his bride happened to be."_

"_**That's not completely accurate, Haru. He can make himself look like anybody if he knows what they look like. But when he takes over a new host, he doesn't just get our appearances. He gets our minds, our talents, our experiences. Every time a hero 'killed' him, his ability to win over brides only grew, much to the dismay of the minds that were already trapped within his. About the only consolation we had for years was when we'd occasionally be able to trick him into saying something he shouldn't at a critical moment, but he's gained a lot of experience in ignoring us if there's something more interesting for him to focus on."**_

Humbert took a second to calm himself down before continuing. _**"What I am about to say will be extremely painful to the loved ones of those brides, but all of you deserve to understand that despite that monster's twisted logic, they **__were __**innocent. Lord Maliss came up with the idea while still married to Snow White for his idea of 'revenge' that if her true love were to come to her, and she bestowed a kiss of gratitude on him for the rescue, all he needed was a lust spell to get what he wanted without a fight."**_

"_Am I going to have to tell __**you **__that children can probably hear this?"_

"_**That's as far as I'm planning to go on the subject. It's been far worse on me than you think, since all the minds in Lord Maliss's thoughts share their memories with each other until we're almost one person. We were not only forced to witness each time, we were forced to remember all of it. Royals, nobles and gentry, there are certain 'damsel in distress' handbooks that have been mandatory reading for your daughters, your sisters, your dear friends since they were taught to read. Burn them. If all those poor brides hadn't had it beaten into their heads about certain behaviors during a rescue, it would not have allowed Lord Maliss the tiny opening he needed to take what he wanted the way he wanted it, and then kill the women afterward for 'cheating' on him."**_

"_The __**one rule **__I thought was too obvious to waste time or much thought on," _Haru growled under her breath.

"_**You were an absolute gem, Haru! I'll fight anyone that tries to say differently! If the other brides had treated those rules with the same disdain you did after Maliss tricked you into reading them, a lot of things could have turned out differently. But you still deserve to know that he doesn't usually start his assault under different faces until after a week or so of terrorizing his victim and analyzing her weaknesses if she doesn't give the 'my true love will rescue me' speech. Not that it would have helped him if he had done that with **__you__**. You never voice your thoughts on romance or anything else if you can wriggle out of it."**_

"_With a gossip-monger for a best friend, you learn to keep your mouth shut. Don't get me wrong, Hiromi, I still love you," _Haru added a little louder as if speaking to that particular person out of everyone else. _"But as you can hear, you did me a much bigger favor than I could have imagined over the Machida thing. So what did Maliss do when he got that speech? Just terrorize the girl for however long it took her lover or someone else to show up?"_

"_**Precisely. It was the biggest reason it took him this long to reach thirteen victims in one year. He wanted to make sure that his bride would have no qualms about kissing whoever it was that came to rescue her."**_

"_So why did he start with me on night one?"_

A very uncomfortable silence followed the question.

"… _**M-More than one of the heroes has heard rumors… that peasant girls were easy. He was trying to break more than one record with you."**_

After a while, Haru chuckled darkly. _"Well, I have always enjoyed disappointing him. It took nine of you just to get my attention, and he __**still **__all but tied me down to keep me from pulling another prank!"_

"_**Eleven, actually. You completely ignored Marc Antony after your second meeting with Mirror-"**_

"_So he __**did **__know about that?"_

"_**He specifically set things up so that Mirror could talk you into being a little naughty while you were still alive after the balcony incident. **__**Thank you **__**for having such a unique idea on how to be naughty! You didn't see anyone the following evening because Lord Maliss was nursing a hangover from spending the rest of the night in the wine cellar. You did that to him more than once, you know."**_

Lady Gikkingen was _very _interested in what naughtiness could drive Lord Maliss to drinking his woes away.

Haru was also cackling evilly with Renaldo, even though she wasn't aware of it. _"That night turned out even better than I thought! So what about the other one?"_

"_**He was going to try again as Howl, but when he saw you throwing those daggers with such accuracy in the throne room, he decided it wasn't worth the risk. That's why he reverted to his own form to pick a fight with you."**_

"_Drat. I would have had a lot more fun with that," _Haru was mourning as Renaldo continued to laugh wickedly.

"We really should bring that girl home with us. It's a long way to Jilash."

Elizabeth nodded happily, but still kept her mouth shut so that she could listen.

"_**Once he had killed bride number one hundred and twelve, a Novian marquise' daughter named Rosella, he realized that he had more or less picked his way through what he considered to be suitable women of the gentry, and no one coming of age for months. I hate to admit this, Haru, but it was one of the heroes that sarcastically told him that if he wanted one hundred and thirteen to be special so badly, he should try a peasant since he was used to and bored with princesses and the like."**_

Haru growled angrily but didn't offer any other commentary.

"_**To those of you that are unlucky enough to never lay eyes on Haru Yoshioka from the mountains of Jilash-"**_

"_Baron!"_

"_**They need to know! To get to the point, Haru does not look like a threat at a mere glance, and she certainly doesn't act like it a majority of the time. Before and after Lord Maliss had her dolled up the same as his other brides, she appeared for all intents and purposes as only a good girl that would weep at hurting a fly." **_Humbert sighed happily. _**"Lord Maliss was infuriated at how wrong that assumption was, but the other heroes and I have been cheering her on since she made it clear that she wasn't one to settle for some man to swoop in and declare that he was here for a rescue. Much to our delight, she refused to settle for anything less than that monster's corpse!" **_

Then that sweet voice started laughing fit to kill. _**"Speaking of which, Haru, you **__really__** disappointed Lord Maliss when he tried his luck as Dirk the Daring. It took him a solid hour to construct his dragon corpse in the great hall to convince you he was dead, and you didn't even bother to go look it over."**_

"_Then maybe he should have thought about the amulet and all its spells to keep me from killing myself before I brought it up or tested it out again. But now I feel even less guilty about throwing him off the balcony and into that thorn bush."_

Toto stopped the coach so that he didn't have to drive and laugh at the same time. Lady Gikkingen or her nephew would have normally scolded him for this unplanned stop, but that would have required them to catch their breath first.

Thankfully, Humbert was also laughing so that nothing was missed. _**"The thorn bush he planted there himself for real rescuers. Dirk was used to such things happening to him on his quests, but he definitely approved of your response."**_

"_All right, Baron, I have to ask. Out of all the ways I hurt or humiliated him, what was the one that hurt him the most?"_

"_**When you would unintentionally ignore him. Intentionally ignoring him was still acknowledging his existence, but he just couldn't cope with a pretty girl-"**_

"_Baron!"_

"_**Completely forgetting that he was around," **_Humbert continued in a bland tone like he hadn't been interrupted. _**"He considered that even more painful than the thorn bush."**_

As soon as Toto had calmed down enough, he flicked his whip to encourage the unhappy horses to start racing for the mountains bordering the Realm of Doom.

Elizabeth saw something from the window of the carriage, making her pull back a drape enough to recognize the royal coach racing from another road and to the fork that would lead them to collide.

More out of habit than true loyalty, Toto eased on the reins enough for the young king to get ahead of them enough to avoid a collusion.

After what felt like far too long, the narrative picked up again.

'_I'm pretty sure that all this is making me sound like a blood-thirsty savage, but I swear I'm not normally this violent," _Haru informed the world at large with a weak pleading in her tone.

"_**I don't imagine you would have gotten him if you were constantly trying to kill him, Haru. Princess Mononoke had come the closest before you, but because she tried to kill him every time they were in the same room, Lord Maliss was more or less constantly prepared for an attempt. You, on the other hand, were far too quiet and thoughtful for his liking and you didn't follow any of the scripts he had attached to each puppet as he pulled them out for you. He never knew what you were going to do, or what would anger you enough to actually lash out at him. Speaking of which, that wasn't a dream you had about beating Machida's head into a pile of mush. Maliss finally bothered to ask the Looking Glass if your heart was taken and ran off to harass you after being shown what Machida looked like but before he could be warned about why you hadn't mentioned him before now."**_

It took a while for Haru's wicked giggle to be heard. _"Just when I thought that memory couldn't become any more precious to me. This __**definitely **__explains why he didn't try to steal more than unwanted kisses on the cheek for over a week."_

"_**One of the reasons he started trying that much harder as other men was because you were giving me and the others hope that you would be the one to never break for him. There's been more than one time when we had to talk him out of just forcing you and killing you because if he did, we would **__**never **__**let him forget that you weren't won over the same way as the others. He knew we were all hoping to see the other injuries you had in store, but his pride wouldn't let him avoid those injuries."**_

Haru could be heard sighing again as the two carriages raced up the winding mountain path to the former royal castle of Neige. _"Why don't we cut to the chase? Since none of the 'rescuers' were able to keep my interest or more than five minutes with me, Lord Maliss used the fact that I couldn't read to more or less force me into staying in one place with a stranger for hours at a time."_

"_**I thought commandeering Felix for a last-minute chaperone the first lesson was a very nice touch."**_

"_Too bad he punished me for that later, though all this does explain why he was so against me having any weapons or witnesses in case trouble came up. The lessons-"_

"_**Please let me tell this part, Haru. Part of your unpredictability is that you don't think like anyone I've known. I know there will be many who will **__**refuse **__**to believe that it only took you a week to learn how to read, and only a few days to become a decent singer." **_

Lady Gikkingen's eyebrows raised with eager interest. She loved her son deeply, but there was definitely a part of her that had always mourned not being able to teach certain things to a daughter. Even better, a _clever _daughter! "We're keeping her," she informed her nephew with a firmness that even the surrounding mountains wouldn't dare to challenge.

Renaldo grinned his approval and would have made a comment of his own if Haru wasn't speaking.

"_That's unusual?"_

"_**Very unusual. I was still working on my alphabet when you were forming sentences. Maliss was the one angry with your progress, not me. He was certain that you would still be working on it a month later if his scheme didn't work by then."**_

"_I hope you know it makes me __**really **__happy every time you mention what a big disappointment I was to him." _Sounding even more tired than before, Haru picked up the narrative again. _"Baron was the face he used for my lessons, and I'm ashamed to admit that his was the face that came closest to winning me over."_

"Naturally," Lady Gikkingen couldn't resist commenting with a smug smirk as Renaldo nodded without surprise.

"_I am… extremely unexperienced when it comes to talking to a man I care about differently than a friend, or am not severely annoyed at. But since I knew that 'Baron' would be killed if I let my feelings for him get any deeper, I tried to cut off seeing him ever again, not even an hour ago."_

"_**It was the best rejection of my **__life! __**We had all been worried sick that you were going to cave for me, which made Maliss all the more certain you would. Refusing to give him that goodbye kiss was the most noble thing I've seen in years!"**_

"… _It was hard, but the creep made sure I didn't have any time to regret it. He didn't bother explaining anything about why he went this far when he furiously switched back to his own shape right in front of me, but he didn't really need to."_

Baron coughed uncomfortably. _**"I don't mean to distress you further, Haru, but there's one detail you haven't guessed yet. Right before your latest misinterpretation of goings-on sent him into another drunken stupor, we as the heroes made another mistake. We mentioned one too many times when he complained again about how much effort you were that targeting only one woman for a romantic relationship is **_**supposed **_**to be that hard. Despite himself, he **_**did **_**enjoy matching wits with you as long as he held most of the cards. Before he spent the rest of the night in the wine cellar again, he had your ladies in waiting start working on a nursery attached to his own chambers."**_

A disgusted shudder was clearly audible to one and all; the perfect reaction to such a statement. _"Thanks, Baron. If I didn't have enough to keep me from having a good night's sleep ever again, you just took care of it."_

"_**I'm sorry, Haru. You deserved to know. But then, dear world, this wonderful, astounding lady of incalculable worth-" **_

"_Baron! I'm warning you!"_

"_**-gave Lord Maliss a more undignified, humiliating death than I would have ever thought up! It was even better than perfect!"**_

Even though they couldn't see the speakers, Elizabeth and Renaldo leaned forward in their bouncing seats to eagerly await details as they continued to follow the royal coach through the winding mountain road.

"_**She… she… she took a…" **_Humbert kept trying to start a sentence, but each time resulted in a nearly hysterical fit of laughter.

Almost inaudible through that glorious sound, they could hear Haru trying to reason with him.

"_That does it! Take your hands off the glass and go sit down! You are too immature to tell this part! Fine, the ground, I don't care. That chair probably has too much of Maliss on it, anyway."_

About halfway through her tirade, the laughter had cut itself off, more than likely Humbert doing as he was told.

"_That's better. I'm going to go ahead and defend myself before I explain what I did. I may not have a lot of experience with relationships, but the ones I've gained, I take very seriously. Anyone from my village will be able to vouch for this. Also, the biggest reason I did not imitate Mononoke, even though I hero-worshiped her and already guessed that she had given Lord Maliss a run for his money, is because my mother drilled into me that there are fights you can fight, and there are some that are not worth the humiliation of losing. I didn't fight having dinner with Lord Maliss every night he wasn't hungover-" _She couldn't resist a short, wicked giggle at the thought.

"_Well, since he's had so many wives that couldn't have been happy about getting kidnapped and forced to renounce their own lives, I knew I'd get dragged to the dining hall if I refused to go willingly, and I didn't want to get offered up to him like a sacrifice. Although I really, __**really**__ wanted to use my poker on him, I knew that he would take it away if I ever tried it, and I wanted some protection against what I thought were entitled creeps treating me like a trophy they had to cheat their way to 'winning'. He was used to insults, at least, so I got in some good ones before things came to a head tonight. The only times I ever tried to strike him as Maliss was when I threw a goblet at him after splashing his face with the wine in it. I also didn't take any of his 'kisses' obediently, but that was half-instinct since I already knew I wasn't going to make him stop until he was done."_

Elizabeth's heart broke for the poor girl. She sounded so _tired, _and in more ways than one.

"_So when it became clear that __**I **__was the scheme he had been working on the whole time I've been forced to live here, I knew things were going to go downhill within the minute. I was hurt, humiliated, and very, __**very **__angry that he had tricked me into caring about him since I thought he only invented all the men that would come and act like I'm a brat for refusing to swoon into their arms. I literally only had one chance to show him just how badly he had hurt me before he could scar me any worse than he already did."_

"Just get to the point," Renaldo growled, prompting his aunt to shake her head in disapproval.

"_But I knew there was one thing he cared about. I hadn't thought about it until I watched 'Baron's lute start stretching into that horrible staff that every single one of the 'rescuers' was carrying a weapon or instrument that could have easily have been the staff in another form. I also remembered that the only bit of magic I've ever seen him do without it was transform from a dragon into a… he doesn't deserve to be called a man! I reluctantly accepted pretty early in this nightmare that he was bigger, stronger, faster and smarter than me, but I knew that even if my plan failed, it would still annoy him enough to make it a worthy last act of defiance since I was certain he was going to kill me when he was through with me._

"_I had wandered over to the fireplace and angled myself enough so that he couldn't see what my right hand was reaching for. I knew I wasn't fooling him, and I knew that he would think I was grabbing the poker since he had to all but pry the usual one from my hands for the lessons. I was praying he __**would **__think that was what I was up to, because he'd unintentionally help me with my plan if he was ready for that move. I had to do things blindly since I didn't want him to hypnotize me like he did when he put that ugly amulet around my neck for the 'wedding' spell. He grabbed my arm and swung me around to face him. Baron, I can barely hear myself talk over that laughter! Mirror, you too! I can send Baron out of the room, but I can't do that with you!"_

"Whatever she did must have been **good**!" Toto laughed as he maneuvered a tricky turn. "I'm going to stop so that I don't run into anything when she explains what happened!"

"Go ahead," Elizabeth encouraged since she didn't want the slightest sound to get in the way of catching every detail.

By the time their coach was silent, there was no slowly deafening noise to indicate that the royal carriage was speeding ahead of them.

"_That's a little better. I struck blindly at him, and he blocked my hand as expected. But instead of a poker, I had the handle of an almost full ash bucket. __**Mirror! Baron**__! You just calmed down, remember?!"_

There was no telling how anyone from the royal coach was taking the news, but Elizabeth, Renaldo, and Toto were all nearly falling out of their seats with laughter. None of them knew exactly what Lord Maliss looked like, but that didn't make the mental image of an evil wizard covered from head to toe in sooty ash less appealing to any of them!

"_Oh? I bet everyone else would like to know what happened after that! Thank you! Ok, now that Baron's out of the room, I have a prayer of actually finishing this story. Just keep it to light chuckles, Mirror. You'll have plenty of time to laugh about this when I'm done. Since he stopped my hand, the bucket got him squarely on the back of the head. We were both doused heavily in ash, but it wasn't so bad on me because I had my mouth and eyes shut while holding my breath. Lord Maliss did not. While he was distracted with an aching head, half-blind and choking on ash, I twisted his staff from his grip and ran for the farthest wall from us so that he'd have as little chance as possible to stop me. Then I used every ounce of strength in my body to slam the dragon head part of the staff against the stone wall. It shattered like glass."_

"**Yes!**" Renaldo roared with approval.

Haru shuddered audibly again. _"I've never been close to an explosion before. I've only heard rumors of fireworks. But I can tell you that when I was able to get to my feet again, there was a giant hole in the side of the music room so I could see the green field where all the food is grown, and the sky outside had turned blood red. I faintly remember that happening when Queen Malissa died, and I felt like I was half my weight because the amulet had crumbled into pebbles, and the gold chain had fallen off my neck! I went looking for Maliss's body so I could get in a few kicks now that I could get away with it, and there was Baron again." _

Elizabeth closed her eyes dreamily as she waited for her son's first true impression on this brave young lady.

"_He was lying on the floor, unconscious and wearing Lord Maliss's clothes that no longer fit him that well since Baron's a head shorter and has a different build. He was still breathing, and all the evidence pointed to Maliss being gone for good, so I poured the water jug on his head to wake him up. I'm still a bit surprised that it didn't break with all the noise and rumbling, but I almost broke it over his head on accident when it looked like I was dumping blood on him. Thank __**heaven **__the red's faded out of his hair and clothes since then. It helped clean most of the ash off, but after the worst storm of his undying gratitude, Baron pouted a bit that his mother wasn't going to get to see how badly I got him when Lord Maliss was in charge of his body."_

Elizabeth wasn't that shocked that her son had guessed her knee-jerk reaction. She was even less shocked that he was as dramatic as ever. Toto took up the reins again and carefully inched around the royal carriage and its still-laughing occupants. Once past that barrier, the coach was almost sailing off the road and out of the mountains to the large, barren landscape surrounding the partially-destroyed castle.

"_He seems pretty certain that she'll be here before daybreak, and I hope he's right. After Wukong ripped apart a wing of the castle to get out of his living entombment, he offered to take me back to my village as long as he had… some very lovely plans for when he got there. But part of the reason I was sulking and depressed was because I didn't really have a future there other than watching my best friend live her life. Hiromi, I will always love you, and Mirror's accepted me as his new owner, so we'll still be able to talk. But I know you'd want me to go find my own future. I don't know what I'll do about that part yet, but I do know that I don't want to spend another night in this horrible place. Say, Baron?! Yes, you can come back in. I'm technically Lord Maliss's widow, right?"_

Humbert must have waited until his hand was back on the glass. _**"That would be correct. Do you have more mischief planned?"**_

"_It just occurred to me that if I'm the new owner of this castle, no one has the right to stop me if I burn it to the ground!"_

"_**What a delightful idea! Would you listen to a bit of advice?"**_

"_That depends." _Her tone made no promises.

"_**Haru, you're not the only one he's hurt. Wouldn't it be grand if at least representatives of all the families of the brides and heroes got to be present for the festivities? At least the ones that have families or loved ones? It would make a grand party, and it would mean more than I could say to the grievers."**_

"… _That's an awfully good idea. I've never planned a party, but-"_

"_**I'll help you. So will my king, it was his sister that monster made me…"**_

There was another long, terrible silence as the horses' hooves ate up mile after mile; the royal coach now far behind.

"_I think that's all we needed to say, World. Maliss is dead, and I'll probably use this mirror to let the loved ones know when we settle on a date for the 'house-warming' party. It will have to be some months from now to give everyone enough time to get here. King of Galdur, Sophie Hatter better be in attendance, and she better have evidence that she's been outside your clutches since tonight at the very least. Because I'm keeping my poker. Pleasant evening, everyone."_

Considering how many times the sweet girl had made them laugh, the overcast conversation had turned very sober with just one partial sentence.

The barren plain in front of the castle loomed on for miles, but no one felt like talking. What _could _one say about such an unfortunate turn of events?

Lady Gikkingen had always known her son was good enough for a princess. Louise had been the sort of proper young lady that Elizabeth had been looking forward to exchanging banter with before Maliss had seen through her suit and top hat that had nearly matched Baron's.

Then again, with a magic mirror at Lord Maliss's disposal, no one's efforts could have been enough against that disgusting wizard. No one and nothing but a mountain girl from the other side of the planet had even managed to make afore-mentioned wizard want to discontinue his twisted game for an even more twisted future.

Still…

The sky was turning shades of purple and pink with the coming dawn by the time their carriage rolled into a courtyard that Elizabeth von Gikkingen remembered very differently from before the King of Neige had died under questionable circumstances, and that strange will leaving the kingdom to his second wife instead of his child had surfaced under even more questionable circumstances.

But at least they didn't have to go searching for her son in that hollow shell of a castle.

Her sweet boy, looking tired but determined, was drawing water out of the courtyard's well, patiently pouring a bucket's worth into another bucket as a young woman poured yet a third and fourth bucket into a water trough. The tired pair were wearing heavy brown cloaks that had probably been meant for guards against the morning chill.

Both of them looked up as the carriage rolled past the gate, making her son let the bucket in the well unreel down so that he could move in front of the well with a tired but happy smile.

The horses needed no urging from Toto to make a beeline for that trough, eagerly dipping their long necks forward to drink, but no one was paying attention to that.

Humbert wasted no time almost tearing the carriage door off its hinges, or any time with the little stairs that were meant to fold out.

For once, not even Elizabeth was interested in propriety. She nearly pitched herself forward out of her seat and into her son's waiting arms.

Humbert was careful as he eased her slight form out of the carriage as easily as a child, but he certainly wasn't letting go, which suited her just fine.

"… _I thought I lost you_," she was finally able to say after a wonderfully long embrace.

Her son choked a strangled laugh. "So did I, Mother. I thought all was lost."

Giving him a smile full of love, Lady Gikkingen wiggled one hand free enough to feel around the back of his head until finding a lemon-sized lump. It was impossible to hold back a laugh, even with her boy's injury. "Haru didn't hold back, did she?"

He was wincing at her touch, but it wasn't enough to keep a wild grin from his lips. "Most certainly not, and I'm glad of it. I know you won't mind, but I offered her a place in our home."

"You only beat me to it, dear," she assured him, grabbing the back of his neck and forcing him to lean over enough so she could kiss his cheek. Although it was difficult, she pried herself off him so that Renaldo and Toto could have a turn.

"Do you have _any idea _how hard your job is?!" Renaldo demanded while his massive arms wrapped around his cousin. "Do me a favor; don't go trying to rescue anyone else for a while! You had us all scared to death!"

"Yes, send Haru next time an evil wizard comes to town," Toto added, not bothering with propriety either as he hugged his lord around the massive arms. "_She _seems to have a knack for evil wizards."

"Not to mention a fantastic right hook," Humbert added with an adoring grin.

Ah, how their old banter was music to her ears! Lady Gikkingen had to dab the tears out of her eyes before looking around the coach for her son's rescuer.

All it took was one glance, and she _knew _this was her future daughter-in-law. She never would have known at a glance that the young lady wasn't a noble by birth.

Haru held herself with a certain dignity, even as she barely ran her gloved fingers along the neck of one of the grey horses still greedily drinking from the trough she had been filling. Her skin was deathly pale, but she didn't possess the listlessness that usually accompanied such a complexion. There were still traces of ash in her hair and dress, but not on the cowl that becomingly covered the top of the bodice almost to her chin. A small length of curtain rope had been tied to her belt to make a makeshift scabbard for a slightly ornate brass fire poker, and an embroidered satchel was hanging off one shoulder. Her large brown eyes seemed designed to tug at heartstrings, especially with the wonder in them as she stared at the horses.

"I had no _idea _horses could get this big," Haru nearly whispered almost reverently.

Lady Gikkingen couldn't resist. Walking around the trough, she tapped lightly on the young lady's shoulder to make her turn away from the horses. She did so, becoming a little alarmed when the older woman grabbed her by both sides of her face.

Lady Gikkingen lovingly pressed her forehead against the sweet child's. "_Thank you_," she said, putting a world of warmth and gratitude into her tone.

Haru melted, reaching up to grab the lady's gloved wrists to hold them where they were. She said nothing, but her breathing relayed how contented she was, just at this simple gesture.

It was more instinct than logic, but Elizabeth von Gikkingen knew that as desperately as she wanted a daughter to dote on, this poor girl needed a mother's care. There was no telling how long she had gone without it, but it was obviously longer than Haru deserved.

"Do you have everything you want from inside, dear?" she asked after they had enjoyed a long calm moment as the boys talked rapidly from the other side of the carriage. "We could leave as soon as the horses are ready."

Haru managed a weak smile as their heads and hands parted. "Only the Looking Glass is left, my lady. It wouldn't be right to leave him behind, and I wouldn't let Baron try to help me carry it down here." She managed a sheepish smile. "I wanted him to just sit and hold something cold to his head, but he insisted on helping me with the water. Is he usually so stubborn?"

"Oh my, yes," Lady Gikkingen laughed. "As soon as I get him alone at home, I'm going to inform him how put out I was that he ran here after Louise without consulting me or even a farewell. There is a reason King Lune's father had him imprisoned in his quarters before making an assault on this place. _Someone _had to run the kingdom if no one returned from the assault."

Haru breathed a long sad sigh, gripping the older woman's hands fondly before walking around the carriage, since the talk on that side had calmed down a bit. "Can I ask one of you to help me with the Looking Glass? I did promise him that he could leave with us."

Renaldo gave her a fond glance and a scoff. "Oh no you don't. You show us where it is, and Toto and I will carry it."

Humbert couldn't resist an ironic laugh. "You two are going to _love _Mirror. The only way he coped with serving Lord Maliss was with biting remarks and underhanded insults."

"My kind of mirror," Toto grinned before bowing extravagantly to the girl. "After you, my lady."

"Not a lady," Haru sighed even as she led the way into the castle. It was a statement that knew it was going to get ignored.

"Mind the gargoyles you'll find! They used to be the servants, and Haru's very fond of them!" Humbert called out after his cousin and friend as they followed the young lady. He winced and held one hand to his head from his own volume. "Except for the dog-shaped ones, feel free to knock those over!"

Renaldo immediately shoved one of the former horned wolves out of the way to make carrying a mirror out of the castle a little smoother. It seemed unwarranted, but Humbert seemed to take particular pleasure in seeing one of those wolves become little more than a pile of broken rock.

As soon as the trio had disappeared inside the castle, Lady Gikkingen purposefully marched over to her son. "Humbert," she said with her most commanding tone.

He winced and flinched back on reflex while holding his arms up in a defensive gesture. "Can that wait until we get home? I assure you that the past six months have been punishment enough."

Knowing what her boy meant, Elizabeth shook her head while pointing an imperious finger at the main door that Haru had disappeared through. "_That _one," she informed him with a steely glare.

He blinked but relaxed at avoiding a scolding for now. "Both Haru and I will need to do some healing before that, Mother. The ordeal both of us suffered won't simply be put behind us in a week."

Not that it stopped him from giving that door a look of wistful adoration. "But I wouldn't protest about courting her when both of us are up to it. I almost feel sorry for the nobles that will try to win her over for bragging rights."

Elizabeth couldn't resist a naughty smirk as she held her son's hand happily, looking up to the nearly full moon with complete contentment as the dawn slowly came. "After an introduction such as that… I don't."

ooOoo

_I'm not asking for the world, I don't deserve it. _

_I'm not asking for all of your attention, I don't need it. _

_I'm not asking to be treated like a princess; I never was much of a girly girl. _

_I'm not asking to be your first thought, just not your last. _

_I'm not asking for everything. _

_I'm just asking for what I deserve. _

_-Megan Marie._

xxXxx

Lots of love to: KathySacuba, booklover15432, Guest, myvividreams, SavannahCullen, Rowena Bensel, Catsafari, fringeperson, NeonTheGreen, EmpressDragonfly, Chura, Ebony Mitsu, TheDrunkenWerewolf, Kitty-ryn, Devin, TwiliGoddess, MicroNekoGirl, AmaltheaLuchiaAizen, Lost and Never Found, Nanenna, Nobodysirius, Bento, mizgardenia21, 96Tsubasa, cmsully, VanillaDreamFran, PeaceLightVictory, foxchick1, Charon's Crossing, Beth the POTR, Raye of the Sunshine, James Birdsong, Littleladybaker, Hinami00, Xireana Prime, E-man-dy-S, Lavender-Mage, DemonWolf25, dreamingofpemberly, Black Cat Library, SilverDragon-Purity, 96Tsubasa, prettybluebird, MyWorldHeartBeating, Aperio, Luckygurrl12, Death Angel Shadow-Kat, SiteOfEvil, coruja3005, and Goldmints for this fun ride. I know this was a bit heavier than what I normally do, but thanks for sticking it out with me not just for this story, but for the last thirteen years.

Also, so much love goes to myvividreams for the stunning cover art for this story! I will definitely be going after you later for cover art again. Also, so much love to princesslunarstarkrystal for beta-ing this for me. There were other betas, but life got in the way of getting back their notes, and there are no hard feelings. I know I've been overwhelmed lately, so I've got no stones to throw.

This was inspired by Daria Cohen's The Night, Bride of the Rat God by Barbara Hambly, Darkangel by Meridith Ann Pierce, Beauty by Robin McKinley, and the basic idea of I Am Dragon. This is also my 'Bride of Discord' thing I've wanted to do for a while, but I didn't want to just rehash DisneyFanatic's idea with a different cast. I'm glad I held off long enough for my own idea to pop into my head. And the poker thing was inspired by Terry Pratchett's The Hogfather (Go read! Now!).

The real reason I wanted to write this story is so that I could have an excuse to write out the jumping on the bed scene, which I realized long after the fact was inspired by an episode of Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, when Bloo was trying to get himself into trouble to get out of eating an awful dinner. Sure, I could have just put that in the one-shot file, but I really wanted to highlight why Lord Maliss would react like that over something that had nothing to do with him (hence why he was upset) without a detailed info dump. This was only meant as a crackfic idea, but as many of you already know, I don't really write one-genre stories. Also, I was intending for there to be a lot more slapstick than what ended up happening but couldn't help thinking that the story would be that much funnier if Haru was oblivious instead of turning the story into a Tom and Jerry rerun. Also, I think this was partially inspired by the scene in Happily Ever after when Maliss is gloating over having Snow White where he wants her. Even as a kid, I thought the way he was grinning at her made it look like he _was _attracted to her even though he wanted to kill her. It was also my stealth commentary on how lazy the transition animation was when Lord Maliss revealed that he was pretending to be the Prince.

It was a while after writing this that the Cat Returns Discord chat went to The Bachelor or The Bachelorette parody, and it took me a while to realize that this was that AU! Extra points to glitterowl! for saying that Haru would enter herself as a contestant for her own hand, and win. Also points to Cinder since she was the one that started that chat.

My original idea for this fic is that Maliss creates the persona of Baron to win over Haru, and eventually decide that he really did fall in love with her and he wants to stay Baron to be with her. Kudos to Mad Jaggs for guessing that. Then I remembered that I borrowed Lord Maliss from Happily Ever After, and that was just too much of a stretch, especially since he unrepentantly had the blood of one hundred and twelve girls plus who KNOWS how many rescuers on his hands (whole armies have fallen by him). That's when the staff thing came to mind, since I'm a huge fan of Daria Cohen's Vampair series. Also, we all know that there's only so much of Baron's charm that Haru can withstand, which is the other reason why this was a shorter one.

In order of appearance, or lack of appearance, the heroes are Tack from The Thief and the Cobbler, Mario from Mario Bros., Manolo from the Book of Life, Snow White's prince from Happily Ever After. He was never given a name in the movie, so I called him Prince Florian of Swynol (Welsh for 'charming'), Prince Ivan of Volk (Russian for 'wolf') was my tribute to how many Russian fairy tales have an Ivan in them, Prince Lir of Taur (Romanian for 'bull') from The Last Unicorn, Dirk the Daring from Dragon's Lair, Prince Mytho of Cigno (Italian for 'swan') was from Princess Tutu, Marc Antony (don't make me throw a history book at you), Howl from Howl's Moving Castle, Baron (duh, at this point), Sun Wukong from Journey to the West, and Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke. Ashitaka didn't get used by Maliss since Haru obviously knew about Princess Mononoke, which meant she could know about Ashitaka and get suspicious about his twisted little game. He also refuses to use Wukong because… well, he can't imagine Wukong successfully wooing any girl.

ooXoo

All right. The next story is going to be a bit of a callback. Back between writing In The Shadows and writing Truth, I wrote what I consider the worst fanfic that ever puked out of my fingers (for this fandom, at least). About the same time, my beta at the time very lovingly called me out on the fact that the quality of my work was taking a nosedive, and she was right. I was becoming a lot more concerned with churning out a lot of stories as opposed to well-thought out ones. After trying to rewrite it, I lost interest in the story after completing the new second chapter. So I quietly forgot about it, put more effort into Truth, and moved on. I even recycled one of the 'characters' from this story for Rebel of My Destiny, since I was creepily proud of that character and was thrilled at the opportunity to show the 'OC' off.

Well, I recently started sifting through my unfinished bits for various stories trying to find something new to read to princesslunarstarkrystal, and found my brain vomit while looking for something else. I told her about it, she was interested, and really enjoyed it when I read the whole thing to her. I expected her to laugh and agree with me that it was pretty bad, but no. She was extremely supportive about posting it after all, as well as jenna131 and Casandravus when I let them get a sneak peek. So although I consider this dirty laundry, the story I'm currently working on is only on the third chapter because I spent most of last year on EIGHT quilts for beloved family members. Heck, I'm still working on that eighth one because I'm an essential worker, and most days after work I'm too exhausted to do more than just lay in bed and recover. Even when I try to write, I usually wind up just staring at the screen instead of doing any writing most of the time.

So I've decided to post this forgotten story next, because although I think it's super corny, even I admit that it has two very good qualities going for it. One, there's very heavy shipping. Two, I at least had the decency to finish this story back then.

_A long-buried story finally comes to light. Freed from enslavement, Haru awakens to a world both familiar and strange to her. Now the question is, where to go from here?_

_**BUT**_. Because of the Birthday Bash in July, I'm going to post one-shots for June because I'm not interested in breaking up a story for the fun event. The little juice I've been able to summon, I've been using more on one-shots than my current story. So I'm going to leave June's updates an open vote to you, my lovely readers.

Choice #1: The two chapters of rewrite for the next story. It won't reveal much of the plot, but I am pleased that there were at least some good one-liners in that set.

Choice #2: The next two parts of Soulmates. Conspiracy, drama, and far too many people ganging up on poor, unsuspecting Haru. I'm advocating calling fluffy stories 'cotton candy' stories.

Choice #3: Haru is presented with a box. There is something inside this box... and it wants **out.**


End file.
